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THE  REYISED  STATUTES 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


BELATINQ  TG 


Mineral  Lands  and  Minim 


TM 


WITH  THE 


Circular  Instructions  of  the  General  Land  Office,  a  Digest  of  the  Decisions  of  the 

Dcpai'tment  of  the  Interior  and  the  Opinions  of  the  Attorneys-Gi-ncral, 

together  with  an  Appendix  of  Special  Statutes  relating  to  Mining, 

a  full  collection  of  Forms  and  rji  elahorate  Index. 


BY 

WALTER    A.    SKIDMORE. 


SAN  FRANCISCO: 

SUMNER  WHITNEY  &  CO., 

Law  Publishers. 

1875. 


T 


Eatcred  according  ^o  Act  of  Congress,  in  tho  year  1875,  by 

WALTElt    A,    BKIDMOEE, 
la  tlia  OSce  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington, 


VI 

a; 

b 


PREFACE. 


In  the  recent  revision  of  the  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  all  the  laws  pertaining 
to  mineral  lands  are  brought  together  in  Chapter  Six  of  Title  Thirty-two  of  the 
Revised  Statutes,  and  all  those  portions  of  the  acts  of  186G,  1870,  and  1872,  which  had 
not  been  previously  repealed,  together  with  the  Coal  Land  act  of  1873,  were  arranged 
and  consolidated  in  that  chapter,  embracing  sections  2318  to  2352  inclusive,  as 
reprinted  in  this  volume. 

Important  rights  having  vested  and  accrued  under  the  earlier  laws,  we  have 
deemed  it  necessary  to  place  the  repealed  sections  in  smaller  type  beneath  the  corres- 
ponding sections  of  the  Revised  Statutes.  Where  the  sections  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
are  identical  with  those  of  former  acts,  it  is  so  stated.  The  Revised  Statutes  of  the 
United  States  have  also  been  carefully  examined  for  collateral  sections  having  a  bear- 
ing on  mineral  lands,  and  these  sections  have  been  printed  under  the  head  of  Miscel- 
laneous Provisions. 

The  latest  Instructions  of  the  General  Land-Office  to  Registers  and  Receivers  are 
given  in  full.  The  Digest  of  Decisions  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  will,  we 
trust,  be  found  to  state  in  a  consise  manner  the  rule  of  law  or  action  laid  down  by  the 
Department  in  every  important  case.  The  brief  note  on  timber  (p.  81)  contains  all 
the  law  on  the  subject. 

The  chapter  on  Wat^r  Rights  (see  Appendix)  from  the  Civil  Code  of  California,  is 
inserted  with  the  belief  that  it  is  the  best  expression  of  the  custom  or  common  law 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  as  to  the  appropriation  of  water.  The  Appendix  contains  also  tho 
Butro  Tunnel  act  and  the  sections  of  the  Railroad  acts  relating  to  mineral  lands,  and 
it  is  hoped  the  Index  may  provea  complete  guide  to  the  various  subjects  treated  under 
tho  different  departments  of  the  book. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGA 

EEYISED  MINING  STATUTES  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES. ., 7 

MISCELLANEOUS  PROVISIONS 28 

AMENDMENT  TO  Sec.  2324  REVISED  STATUTES 33 

REPEALING  PROVISION 34 

TABLE  OF  REFERENCE  TO  MINING  ACTS 34 

INSTRUCTIONS  AND  REGULATIONS 35 

EXTENDITUHES  AND  IBIPEOVEMENTS 47 

Surveys 48 

Contests  between  Mineral  and  Agricultural  Clah^aiws 50 

What  ARE  Valuable  Mineral  Deposits 52 

Coal  Lands 54 

TABLE  OP  REFERENCE  TO  INSTRUCTIONS 68 

DIGEST  OF  DECISIONS : 69 

APPENDIX 85 

WATER  RIGHTS  IN  CALIFORNIA 85 

MINERAL  LANDS  ON  SCHOOL  SECTIONS  IN  CALIFORNIA. 85 

SUTRO  TUNNEL  ACT 87 

EXTRACTS  FROM  RAILROAD  ACT 83 

FORMS 89 

INDEX 101 


THE 


Revised  Mining  Statutes 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Bectioh  2318.  Mineral  lands  reserved. 

2319.  Mineral  lands  open  to  purchase  by  citizens. 

2320.  Length  of  miniug-claims  upon  veins  or  lodes. 

2321.  Proof  of  citizenship. 

2322.  Locators'  rights  of  possession  and  enjoyment. 

2323.  Owners  of  tunnels,  rights  of. 

2324.  Eegulations  made  by  miners ;  expenditures  and  improvements. 

2325.  Patents  for  mineral  lands,  how  obtained. 

2326.  Adverse  claim,  proceedings  on. 

2327.  Description  of  vein-claims  on  surveyed  and  unsurveyed  lands. 

2328.  Pending  applications ;  existing  rights. 

2329.  Conformity  of  placer-claims  to  surveys,  limit  of. 

2330.  Subdivision  of  ten-acre  tracts,  maximum  of  placer  locations. 

2331.  Conformity  of  placer-claims  to  surveys,  limitation  of  claims. 

2332.  What  evidence  of  possession,  etc.,  to  establish  a  right  to  a  patent. 

2333.  ProceediDgs  for  patent  for  placer-claim,  etc. 

2334.  Surveyor-General  to  appoint  surveyors  of  mining-claims,  etc. 

2335.  Verification  of  affidavits,  etc. 
233G.  Where  veins  intersect,  etc. 

2337.  Patents  for  non-mineral  lands,  etc. 

2338.  What  conditions  of  sale  may  bo  made  by  local  legislature. 

2339.  Vested  rights  to  use  of  water  for  mining,  etc.,  right  of  way  for  canals. 
23 10.  Patents,  pre-emptions  and  homesteads,  subject  to  vested  water-rights. 

2341.  Lands  in  which  no  valuable  mines  are  discovered,  open  to  homesteads. 

2342.  Mineral  lands,  how  set  apart  as  agricultural  lands. 

2343.  Additional  districts  and  officers,  power  of  the  President  to  provide. 

2344.  Provisions  of  tliis  chapter  not  to  affect  certain  rights. 

2345.  Mineral  lands  in  certain  States  excepted. 

2346.  Grants  of  land  to  States  or  corporations  not  to  inclade  mineral  lands. 

2347.  Entry  of  coal-lands. 

2348.  Pre-emption  of  coal-lands. 

2349.  Pre-emption  claims  of  coal-lands  to  be  preeented  within  sixty  days. 

2350.  Only  one  entry  allowed. 

2351.  Conflicting  claims. 

2352.  Rights  reserved. 

Sec.  2318.  Mineral  lands  reserved. 

In  all  cases,  lands  valuable  for  minerals  sliall  be  reserved 

from  sale,  except  as  otherwise  expressly  directed  bj  law. 


EEVISSD  STATUTES. 


See.  2319.  Mlaeral  lands  open  to  pnrchase  by  citizens. 

All  valuable  mineral  deposits  in  lands  belonging  to  the 
United  States,  botli  surveyed  and  unsurveyed,  are  hereby 
declared  to  be  free  and  open  to  exploration  and  purchase, 
and  tlie  lands  in  which  they  are  found  to  occupation  and 
purchase,  by  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  thoso  who 
have  declared  their  intention  to  become  such,  under  regula- 
tions prescribed  by  law,  and  according  to  the  local  customs 
or  rules  of  miners  in  the  several  mining-districts,  so  far  as 
the  same  are  applicable  and  not  inconsistent  with  the  laws 
of  the  United  States. 

'Sec.  1  of  the  act  of  1872, 17  U.  S.  Stat.  91,  was  identical  with  above. 
Sec.  1  of  the  Statute  of  July  2G,  1866,  read  as  follows :  Sec.  1 .  That  the  mineral  lands 
of  the  public  domain,  both  surveyed  and  uusiu'veyed,  arc  hereby  declared  to  be  free 
and  open  to  exploration  and  occupation  by  all  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  those 
who  have  declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens,  subject  to  such  regulations  as 
may  be  prescribed  by  law,  and  subject  also  to  the  local  customs  or  rules  of  miners 
in  the  several  mining-districts,  so  far  as  the  same  may  not  be  in  conflict  wiih  the  laws 
of  the  United  States.  [  14  U.  S.  Stat.  251.  ], 
See  §  2329. 

Sec.  2320.  Length  of  mining  claims  upon  veins  or  lodes. 

Mining-claims  upon  veins  or  lodes  of  quartz  or  other  rock 
in  place  bearing  gold,  silver,  cinnabar,  lead,  tin,  copper,  or 
other  valuable  deposits,  heretofore  located,  shall  be  gov- 
erned as  to  length  along  the  vein  or  lode  by  the  customs, 
regulations,  and  laws  in  force  at  the  date  of  their  location. 
A  mining-claim  located  after  the  tenth  day  of  May,  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventy-tw^o,  whether  located  by  one  or  more 
persons,  may  equal,  but  shall  not  exceed,  one  thousand  five 
hundred  feet  in  length  along  the  vein  or  lode  ;  but  no  loca- 
tion of  a  mining-claim  shall  be  made  until  the  discovery  of 
the  vein  or  lode  within  the  limits  of  the  claim  located.  No 
claim  shall  extend  more  than  three  hundred  feet  on  each  side 
of  the  middle  of  the  vein  at  the  sui'face,  nor  shall  any  claim 
be  limited  by  any  mining  regulation  to  less  than  twenty-five 
feet  on  each  side  of  the  middle  of  the  vein  at  the  surface, 
except  where  adverse  rights  existing  on  the  tenth  day  of 
May,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two,  render  such  limita- 


REVISED  STATUTES. 


tion  necessary.     The  end-lines  of  eacli  claim  shall  be  paral- 
lel to  each  other. 

Sec.  2  of  the  aet  of  1872, 17  U.  S.  Stat.  91,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 

Sec.  4  of  the  Statute  of  July  2G,  1863,  read  as  follows  :  Sec.  4.  That  when  such 
locatiou  and  entry  of  amino  shall  be  upon  unsurveyed  lands,  it  shall  and  may  bo 
lawful,  after  the  extension  thereto  of  the  public  surveys,  to  adjust  the  survey.?  to  the 
limits  of  the  p;-em;ses,  accordmg  to  the  locatiou  and  posses-ion  and  plat  aforesaid ; 
and  the  aurveyor-general  may,  ia  extending  the  surveys,  vary  the  same  f.  om  a  rect- 
angular form  to  suit  the  circumstances  of  the  country,  and  the  local  rules,  laws,  and 
customs  of  miners  :  Provided,  Tliat  no  location  hereafter  made  shall  exceed'  two 
hundred  feet  in  length  along  the  rein  for  each  locator,  with  an  additional  claim  for 
discovery  to  the  discoverer  of  the  lode,  with  the  right  to  follow  such  vein  to  any  depth 
with  all  its  dips,  variations,  and  angles,  together  with  a  reasonable  quantity  of  sur- 
face for  the  convenient  working  of  the  same,  as  fixed  by  local  rules  :  And  -p^'ovided 
further,  That  no  i^erson  may  make  more  than  one  Ijcation  on  the  same  lode,  and  not 
more  than  thrco  thousand  feet  shall  be  taken  in  any  one  claim  by  any  association  of 
persons.     [1-i  U.  S.  Stat.  252.] 

See  §§  2323,  2337. 

Sec.  2321,  Proof  of  citizenship. 

Proof  of  citizenship,  under  this  chapter,  may  consist,  in 
the  case  of  an  individual,  of  his  own  affidavit  thereof;  in 
the  case  of  an  association  of  persons  unincorporated,  of  the 
affidavit  of  their  authorized  agent,  made  on  his  own  knowl- 
edge, or  upon  information  and  belief ;  and  in  the  case  of  a 
corporation  organized  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States, 
or  of  any  State  or  Territory  thereof,  by  the  filing  of  a  certi- 
fied copy  of  their  charter  or  certificate  of  incorporation. 

The  last  clause  of  Sec.  7  of  the  act  of  1872, 17  U.  S.  Stat.  04,  was  the  same  as  the 
above,  wi.h  the  following  addition :  "  and  nothing  herein  contained  shall  bo  construed 
to  pi'cvcr.t  the  alienation  of  the  title  convcj-ed  by  a  patent  for  a  mi.  ing  claim  to  any 
perscn  whatever,"  which  language  is  now  iacorporated  iu  the  last  clause  of  r.ec.  2326. 

Sec  §  23J5. 

Sec.  2322.  Locators'  rights  of  possession  and  enjoyment. 

The  locators  of  all  mining  locations  heretofore  made,  or 
which  shall  hereafter  be  made,  on  any  mineral  vein,  lode,  or 
ledge,  situated  on  the  public  domain,  their  heirs  and  assigns, 
where  no  adverse  claim  exists  on  the  tenth  day  of  May,  eigh- 
teen hundred  and  seventy-two,  so  long  as  they  comply  Avith 
the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  with  State,  territorial,  and 
local  regulations  not  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  governing  their  possessory  title,  shall  have  the  exclu- 


10  KEVISED   STATUTES. 


sive  right  of  possession  and  enjoyment  of  all  the  surface 
included  within  the  lines  of  their  locations,  and  of  all  veins, 
lodes,  and  ledges  throughout  their  entire  depth,  tue  top  or 
apex  of  which  lies  inside  of  such  surface-lines  extended 
downward  vertically,  although  such  veins,  lodes,  or  ledges 
may  so  far  depart  from  a  perpendicular  in  their  course  down- 
ward as  to  extend  outside  the  vertical  side-lines  of  such  sur- 
face locatiojis.  But  their  right  of  possession  to  such  out- 
side parts  of  such  veins  or  ledges  shall  be  confined  to  such 
portions  thereof  as  lie  between  vertical  planes  drawn  down- 
ward as  above  described,  through  the  end-lines  of  their 
locations,  so  continued  in  their  own  direction  that  such 
planes  will  intersect  such  exterior  parts  of  such  veins  or 
ledges.  And  nothing  in  this  section  shall  authorize  the 
locator  or  possessor  of  a  vein  or  lode  which  extends  in  its 
downward  course  beyond  the  vertical  lines  of  his  claim  to 
enter  upon  the  surface  of  a  claim  owned  or  possessed  by 
another. 

Sec.  3  of  the  act  of  1872, 17  U.  S.  Stat.  91,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 
See  §§  2320,  2324. 

Sec.  2323.  Owners  of  tunnels,  rights  of. 

Where  a  tunnel  is  run  for  the  development  of  a  vein  or 
lode,  or  for  the  discovery  of  mines,  the  owners  of  such  tun- 
nel shall  have  the  right  of  possession  of  all  veins  or  lodes 
within  three  thousand  feet  from  the  face  of  such  tunnel  on 
the  line  thereof,  not  previously  known  to  exist,  discovered 
in  such  tunnel,  to  the  same  extent  as  if  discovered  from  the 
surface  ;  and  locations  on  the  line  of  such  tunnel  of  veiDs  or 
lodes  not  appearing  on  the  surface,  made  by  other  parties 
after  the  commencement  of  the  tunnel,  and  while  the  same 
is  being  prosecuted  with  reasonable  diligence,  shall  be 
invalid ;  but  failure  to  prosecute  the  work  on  the  tunnel  for 
six  months  shall  be  considered  as  an  abandonment  of  tho 
right  to  all  undiscovered  veins  on  the  line  of  such  tunnel. 

Sec.  4  of  the  act  of  1872, 17  U.  S.  Stat.  92,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 

See  §  2320. 


;revised  statutes.  11 


Sec.  2324.  Miners'  regulations;  expemlitures  ami  iinproTements. 

The  miners  of  each  mining-district  may  make  regulations 
not  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  or  with 
the  laws  of  the  State  or  territory  in  which  the  district  is  sit- 
uated, governing  the  location,  manner  of  recording,  amount 
of  work  necessary  to  hold  possession  of  a  mining-claim,  sub- 
ject to  the  following  requirements  :  The  location  must  be 
distinctly  marked  on  the  ground  so  that  its  boundaries  can 
be  readily  traced.  All  records  of  mining-claims  hereafter 
made  shall  contain  the  name  or  names  of  the  locators,  the 
date  of  the  location,  and  such  a  description  of  the  claim  or 
claims  located  by  reference  to  some  natural  object  or  perma- 
nent monument  as  will  identify  the  claim.  On  each  claim 
located  after  the  tenth  day  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-two,  and  until  a  patent  has  been  issued  therefor,  not 
less  than  one  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  labor  shall  be  per- 
formed or  improvements  made  during  each  year.  On  all 
claims  located  prior  to  the  tenth  day  of  May,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  seventy-two,  ten  dollars'  worth  of  labor  shall  be 
performed  or  improvements  made  by  the  tenth  day  of  June, 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-four,  and  each  year  thereafter, 
for  each  one  hundred  feet  in  length  along  the  vein,  until  a 
patent  has  been  issued  therefor ;  but  where  such  claims  are 
held  in  common,  such  expenditure  may  be  made  upon  any 
one  claim  ;  and  upon  a  failure  to  comply  with  these  condi- 
tions, the  claim  or  mine  upon  which  such  failure  occurred 
shall  be  open  to  relocation  in  the  same  manner  as  if  no  loca- 
tion of  the  same  had  ever  been  made,  provided  that  the 
original  locators,  their  heirs,  assigns,  or  legal  representatives, 
have  not  resumed  work  upon  the  claim  after  failure  and 
before  such  location.  Upon  the  failure  of  any  one  of  several 
co-owners  to  contribute  his  proportion  of  the  expenditures 
required  hereby,  the  co-owners  who  have  performed  the 
labor  or  made  the  improvements,  may,  at  the  expiration  of 
the  year,  give  such  delinquent  co-owner  personal  notice  in 
wri  ting,  or  notice  by  publication  in  the  newspaper  published 


12 


r.EYlSED    STATUTES. 


nearest  the  claim,  for  at  least  once  a  week  for  ninety  days, 
and  if,  at  the  expiration  of  ninety  days  after  such  notice  in 
writing  or  hj  publication,  such  delinquent  should  fail  or 
refuse  to  contribute  his  proportion  of  the  expenditure 
required  by  this  section,  his  interest  in  the  claim  shall  become 
the  property  of  his  co-owners  who  have  made  the  required 
expenditures. — [See  Amendment  of  Feb.  11,  1875;  p.  33. 

Sec.  5  of  the  act  of  May  10, 1872,  17  U.  S.  Stat.  92,  substituted  the  ^70^ds :  "each 
year  for  cacli  hundred  feet,'"  instead  of  the  icords,  "  by  the  tenth  day  of  June,  eight- 
een hundred  and  seventy- four,  and  each  year  thereafter,"  in  the  cLuise  relating  to 
expenditures,  otherrviso  the  section  was  the  same. 

An  act  of  Congress,  approved  March  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-three, 
amended  Sec.  5,  of  the  act  of  1572,  (17  U.  S.  Stat.  92,)  so  as  to  read  as  follows :  "  That 
the  time  for  the  first  annual  expenditure  on  claims  located  prior  to  the  passage  of  said 
act  shall  be  extended  to  the  tenth  day  of  June,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy- four." 

An  act  of  Congress,  approved  June  six,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-four, 
further  extended  said  time  for  lii-st  annual  expenditure  to  the  first  day  of  January  > 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-five. 

See  §}  23S1,  2332. 

Sec.  2325.  Patents  for  mineral  lands,  liow  obtained. 

A  patent  for  any  land  claimed  and  located  for  valuable 
deposits  may  be  obtained  in  the  following  m.anner  :  Any 
person,  association,  or  corporation  authorized  to  locate  a 
claim  under  this  chapter,  having  claimed  and  located  a  .piece 
of  land  for  such  purposes,  who  has,  or  have,  complied  with 
the  terms  of  this  chapter,  may  file  in  the  proper  land-ofiice 
an  application  for  a  patent,  under  oath,  showing  such  com- 
pliance, together  with  a  plat  and  field-notes  of  the  claim  or 
claims  in  common,  made  by  or  under  the  direction  of  the 
United  States  surveyor-general,  showing  accurately  the 
boundaries  of  the  claim  or  claims,  which  shall  be  distinctly 
marked  by  monuments  on  the  ground,  and  shall  post  a  copy 
of  such  plat,  together  mth  a  notice  of  such  application  for 
a  patent,  in  a  conspicuous  place  on  the  land  embraced  in 
such  plat,  previous  to  the  filing  of  the  application  for  a  pat- 
ent, and  shall  file  an  affidavit  of  at  least  two  persons  that 
such  notice  has  been  duly  posted,  and  shall  file  a  copy  of 
the  notice  in  such  land-office,  and  shall  thereupon  be  enti- 
tled to  a  patent  for  the  land,  in  the  manner  following  :  The 
register  of  the  land-office,  upon  the  filing  of  such  applica- 


Department  of  the  Interior, 

General  Land  Office, 
Washington,  D.  C,  March  3,  1880. 
Eegisters  and  Receivers, 

United  States  District  Land  Offices: 
Gentlemen  :  The  following  act  of  Congress,  approved  January  22, 
1880,  is  furnished  for  your  ofQcial  guidance,  and  for  the  information  of 
those  interested. 

Very  respectfully, 

J.  M.  AEMSTEOl^G, 

Acting  Commissioner. 


[Public— I^To.  6.] 

AN  ACT  to  amend  sections  twenty-three  hundred  and  twenty-four  and  twenty-three 
hundred  and  twenty-five  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States  concerning 
mineral  lands. 

Beit  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  Home  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  section  twenty-three  liun- 
dred  and  twenty-five  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States  be 
amended  by  adding  thereto  the  following  words:  ^^ Provided,  That  where 
the  claimant  for  a  patent  is  not  a  resident  of  or  within  the  land  district 
wherein  the  vein,  lode,  ledge,  or  deposit  sought  to  be  patented  is  located, 
the  application  for  patent  and  the  affidavits  required  to  be  made  in  this 
section  by  the  claimant  for  such  patent  may  be  made  by  his,  her,  or  its 
authorized  agent,  where  said  agent  is  conversant  with  the  facts  sought 
to  be  established  by  said  affidavits:  And  provided,  That  this  section  shall 
apply  to  all  applications  now  pending  for  i)atents  to  mineral  lands." 

Sec.  2.  That  section  twenty-three  hundred  and  twenty-four  of  the  Re- 
vised Statutes  of  the  United  States  be  amended  by  adding  the  following 
words :  ^'•Provided,  That  the  period  within  which  the  work  required  to  be 
done  annually  on  all  unpatented  mineral  claims  shall  commence  on  the 
first  day  of  January  succeeding  the  date  of  location  of  such  claim,  and 
this  section  shall  apply  to  all  claims  located  since  the  tenth  day  of  May, 
anno  Domini  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two." 

Approved,  January  22,  1880. 


14  EEVISED   STATUTES. 


Sec.  3  of  ihe  Mining  Statute  of  July  26,  1S66,  read  as  follows :  Sec.  3.  That  upon 
the  filing  of  the  diagram  as  provided  in  the  second  section  of  this  act,  and  posting  the 
same  in  a  conspicuous  place  on  t-lio  claim,  together  Avith  a  notice  of  intention  to  apply 
for  a  patent,  the  register  of  the  land-office  shall  puhlish  a  notice  of  the  same  in  a 
newspaper  published  nearest  to  the  location  of  said  claim,  and  shall  also  post  such 
notice  in  his  office  for  the  period  of  ninety  days ;  and  after  the  expiration  of  said 
period,  if  no  adverse  claim  shall  have  been  filed,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  surveyor- 
general,  upon  application  of  the  party,  to  survey  the  premises  and  make  a  plat 
thereo'i,  indorsed  with  his  approval,  designating  the  number  and  description  of  the 
location,  the  value  of  the  labor  and  improvements,  and  the  character  of  the  vein 
exposed  ;  and  upon  the  payment  to  the  proper  officer  of  five  dollars  per  acre,  together 
with  the  cost  of  such  survey,  plat,  and  notice,  and  giving  satisfactory  evidence  that 
said  diagram  and  notice  have  been  posted  on  the  claim  during  said  period  of  ninety 
days,  the  register  of  the  land-office  shall  transmit  to  the  General  Land-Office  said 
plat,  survey,  and  description,  and  a  patent  shall  issue  for  the  same  thereupon.  Bat 
eaid  plat,  survey,  or  description  shall  in  no  case  cover  more  than  one  vein  or  lode, 
and  no  patent  shall  issue  for  more  than  one  vein  or  lode,  which  shall  be  expressed  in 
the  patent  issued.     [14  U.  S.  Stat.  252.] 

See  §§  2325,  2327,  2328,  2333. 

Sec.  2326.  Adverse  claim,  proceedings  on. 

Where  an  adverse  claim  is  filed  during  the  period  of  pub- 
lication, it  shall  be  upon  oath  of  the  person  or  persons  mak- 
ing the  same,  and  shall  show  the  nature,  boundaries,  and 
extent  of  such  adverse  claim,  and  all  proceedings,  except 
the  publication  of  notice  and  making  and  filing  of  the  affi- 
davit thereof,  shall  be  stayed  until  the  controversy  shall  have 
been  settled  or  decided  by  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction, 
or  the  adverse  claim  waived.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  ad- 
verse claimant,  within  thirty  days  after  filing  his  claim,  to 
commence  proceedings  in  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction, 
to  determine  the  question  of  the  right  of  possession,  and 
prosecute  the  same  with  reasonable  diligence  to  final  judg- 
ment ;  and  a  failure  so  to  do  shall  be  a  waiver  of  his  adverse 
claim.  After  such  judgment  shall  have  been  rendered,  the 
party  entitled  to  the  possession  of  the  claim,  or  any  portion 
thereof,  may,  without  giving  further  notice,  file  a  certified 
copy  of  the  judgment-roll  with  the  register  of  the  land-office, 
together  with  the  certificate  of  the  surveyor-general  that  the 
requisite  amount  of  labor  has  been  expended,  or  improve- 
ments made  thereon,  and  the  description  required  in  other 
cases,  and  shall  pay  to  the  receiver  five  dollars  per  acre  for 
his  claim,  together  with  the  proper  fees,  whereupon  the 


EEVISED  STATUTES,  15 


whole  proceedings  and  tlie  Judgment-roll  shall  be  certified 
by  the  register  to  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land- 
Office,  and  a  patent  shall  issue  thereon  for  the  claim,  or  such 
portion  thereof  as  the  applicant  shall  appear,  from  the  decis- 
ion of  the  court,  to  rightly  possess.  If  it  appears  from  the 
decision  of  the  court,  that  several  parties  are  entitled  to  sep- 
arate and  different  portions  of  the  claim,  each  party  may  pay 
for  his  portion  of  the  claim,  with  the  proper  fees  and  file 
the  certificate  and  description  by  the  surveyor-general, 
whereupon  the  register  shall  certify  the  proceedings  and 
judgment-roll  to  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land- 
Office,  as  in  the  preceding  case,  and  patents  shall  issue  to 
the  several  parties  according  to  thsir  respective  rights. 
Nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  the 
alienation  of  the  title  conveyed  by  a  patent  for  a  minine- 
claim  to  any  person  whatever. 

Sec.  7  of  the  act  of  1872,  17  U.  S.  Stat.  93,  was  the  same  as  the  above,  with  the 
exception  of  the  omission  of  the  clause  relating  to  proofs  of  citizenship,  which  was 
identical  with  Sec.  2321,  anle. 

Sec.  G  of  the  Statute  of  July  26,  1?66,  read  as  follows :  Sec.  6.  That  whenever 
any  advcrsa  claimants  to  any  mine,  located  and  claimed  as  aforesaid,  shall  appear 
before  the  approval  of  the  survey,  as  provided  in  the  third  section  of  this  act,  all  pro- 
ceedings shall  be  stayed  until  a  final  settlement  and  adjudication,  in  the  courts  of  com- 
petent jurisdiction,  of  the  rights  of  possession  to  such  claim,  when  a  patent  may  issue 
as  in  other  cases.    [14  U.  S.  Stat.  252.] 

See  §  2325. 

Sec.  2327.  Description  of  vein-claims  on  suiTeycd  and  unsurreyed  lands. 
The  description  of  vein  or  lode  claims,  upon  surveyed 
lands,  shall  designate  the  location  of  the  claim  with  refer- 
ence to  the  lines  of  the  public  surveys,  but  need  not  con- 
form therewith  ;  but  where  a  patent  shall  be  issued  for 
claims  upon  unsurveyed  lands,  the  surveyor-general,  in 
extending  the  surveys,  shall  adjust  the  same  to  the  bound- 
aries of  such  patented  claim,  according  to  the  plat  or 
description  thereof,  but  so  as  in  no  case  to  interfere  with  or 
change  the  location  of  any  such  patented  claim. 

Sec.  8  of  the  act  of  1872, 17  U.  S.  Stat  94,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 
See  §  2325. 


16  EE VISED   STATUTES. 


Sec.  2328.  Pendin^T  applications  ',  esisting'  rijMs. 

Applications  for  patents  for  mining-claims,  under  former 
laws  now  pending,  may  be  prosecuted  to  a  final  decision  in 
the  General  Land-Office ;  but  in  such,  cases  where  adverse 
rights  are  not  affected  thereby,  patents  may  issue  in  pursu- 
ance of  the  provisions  of  this  chapter ;  and  all  patents  for 
mining-clcums  upon  veins  or  lodes  heretofore  issued  shall 
convey  all  the  rights  and  privileges  conferred  by  this  chap- 
ter, where  no  adverse  rights  existed  on  the  tenth  day  of 
May,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two. 

Sec.  9  of  the  act  of  1872, 17  U.S.  Stat.  94,  read:  Sec.  9.  That  sections  one,  two,  throe, 
four  and  six  of  an  act  entitled  "An  act  granting  the  right  of  way  to  ditch  and  canal 
owners  over  tlie  public  lands,  and  for  other  purposes,"  approved  July  twcnty-sixlh, 
eighteen  hundred  and  sisty-s!s,  arc  hereby  repealed,  but  such  repeal  shall  not  affect 
existing  rights.  Applications  for  patents  for  minins-clainis  now  p?nc>ing  may  be 
prosecuted  to  a  final  decision  in  the  General  Land-Oifice ;  but  in  such  cases  where 
adverse  rights  arc  not  affected  thereby,  patents  may  issue  in  loursuancc  of  the  provis- 
ions of  this  act :  and  all  patents  for  mining-claims  heretofore  issued  under  the  act 
of  July  twenty  sixth,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-six,  shall  convey  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  conferred  by  this  act  where  no  adverse  rights  exist  at  the  time  of  the  pas" 
sage  of  this  act. — f  For  Sees.  1,  2,  3,  4  and  G,  of  the  act  of  1866,  repealed  by  Sec.  9  of 
the  act  of  1872,  see  notes  to  Sees.  2319,  2320,  2325  and  2326,  ante.'] 

See  §§  2325,  2326. 

Sec.  2329.  Conformity  of  placer -claims  to  surveys?  limit  of. 

Claims  usually  called  "placers,"  including  all  forms  of 
deposit,  excepting  veins  of  quartz,  or  other  rock  in  place, 
shall  be  subject  to  entry  and  patent,  under  like  circum- 
stances and  conditions,  and  upon  similar  proceedings,  as 
are  provided  for  vein  or  lode  claims ;  but  where  the  lands 
have  been  previously  surveyed  by  the  United  States,  the 
entry  in  its  exterior  limits  shall  conform  to  the  legal  subdi- 
visions of  the  public  lands. 

The  first  clause  of  Sec.  12  of  the  act  of  1870, 16  U.  S.  Stat.  217,  was  substantially 
the  same  as  the  above.    [See  note  to  Sec.  2330.  J 
See  §§2310,  2331,2334. 

Sec.  2330.  Subdivision  of  ten-acre  tracts  |  limit  of  placer  locations. 

Legal  subdivisions  of  forty  acres  may  be  subdivided  into 
ten-acre  tracts ;  and  two  or  more  persons,  or  associations  of 
persons,  having  contiguous  claims  of  any  size,  although  such 


EEVISED   STATUTES.  17 

clams  may  be  less  than  ten  acres  each,  may  make  joint  entry 
thereof ;  but  no  location  of  a  placer-claim,  made  after 
the  niiitli  clay  of  July,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy, 
shall  exceed  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  for  any  one  person 
or  association  of  persons,  which  location  shall  conform  to 
the  United  States  surveys ;  and  nothing  in  this  section  con- 
tainyd  shall  defeat  or  impair  any  bona-fide  pre-emption  or 
homestead  claim  upon  agricultural  lands,  or  authorize  the 
sale  of  the  improvements  of  any  bona-fide  settler  to  any 
purchaser. 

Sec.  12  of  the  act  of  1870, 16  U.  S.  Stat.  217,  read  :  Sec.  12.  That  claims  usually 
called  "  placers,"  including  all  forms  of  deposit  excepting  veins  of  quartz,  or  other 
rock  in  place,  shall  be  subject  to  entry  and  patent  under  this  act,  under  like  circum- 
Btances  and  conditions  and  upon  similar  proceedings  as  are  provided  for  vein  or  lode 
claims :  Provided,  That  where  the  lands  have  been  previously  surveyed  by  the  United 
States,  the  entry  in  its  exterior  limits  shall  conform  to  the  legal  subdivisions  of  the 
public  lands,  no  further  survey  or  plat  in  such  case  being  required,  and  the  lands 
may  be  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  acre :  Provided  further, 
That  legal  subdivisions  of  forty  acres  may  be  subdivided  into  ten-acre  tracts ;  and 
that  two  or  more  persons  or  associations  of  persons,  having  contiguous  claims  of  any 
size,  although  such  claims  may  be  less  than  ten  acres  each,  may  make  joint  entry 
thereof:  And  provided  further,  That  no  location  of  a  placer-claim,  hereafter  made, 
shall  exceed  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  for  any  one  person  or  association  of  persons, 
•which  location  shall  conform  to  the  United  States  surveys ;  and  nothing  in  this  sec- 
tion contained  shall  defeat  or  impair  any  bona  fide  pre-emption  or  homestead  claim 
upon  agricultural  lands,  or  authorize  the  sale  of  the  improvements  of  any  bona  fide 
settler  to  any  purchaser. 

See  §  2334. 

Sec.  2331.  Survey  of  placer  claims ;  limitation  of. 

Where  placer-claims  are  upon  surveyed  lands,  and  con- 
form to  legal  subdivisions,  no  further  survey  or  plat  shall 
be  required,  and  all  placer-mining  claims  located  after 
the  tenth  day  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two, 
shall  conform  as  near  as  practicable  with  the  United  States 
system  of  public-land  surveys,  and  the  rectangular  subdi- 
visions of  such  surveys,  and  no  such  location  shall  include 
more  than  twenty  acres  for  each  individual  claimant  ;  but 
where  placer-claims  cannot  be  conformed  to  legal  subdivis- 
ioDs,  survey  and  plat  shall  be  made  as  on  unsurveyed  lands ; 
a  ad  v/liore  by  the  segregation  of  mineral  land  in  any  legal 
U.  S.  MIN.  s.  2. 


18  REVISED  STATUTES. 


subdivision,  a  quantity  of  agricultural  land  less  than  forty 
acres  remains,  such  fractional  portion  of  agricultural  land 
may  be  entered  by  any  party  qualified  by  law,  for  home- 
stead or  pre-emption  purposes. 

Sec.  10  of  the  act  of  1872,  17  U.  S.  Stat.  94,  read :  Sec.  10.  That  the  act  entitled 
"An  act  to  amend  au  act  granting  the  right  of  way  to  ditch  and  canal  owners  over  the 
pubUc  lands,  and  for  other  purposes,"  approved  July  nintli..  eigliteen  hundred  and 
seventy,  shall  be  and  remain  in  full  force,  except  as  to  the  proceedings  to  obtain  a 
patent,  which  shall  be  similar  to  the  proceedings  prescribed  by  sections  six  and  seven 
of  this  act,  for  obtaining  patents  to  vein  or  lode  claims ;  but  where  said  placer-claims 
ehall  be  upon  surveyed  lands,  and  conform  to  legal  subdivisions,  no  further  surveyor 
plat  shall  be  required,  and  all  placer  mining-claims  hereafter  located  shall  conform 
as  near  as  practicable  with  the  United  States  system  of  public  land  surveys,  and  the 
rectangular  subdivisions  of  such,  surveys,  and  no  such  location  shall  include  more 
than  twenty  acres  for  each  individual  claimant,  but  where  placer-claims  cannot  be 
conformed  to  legal  subdivisions,  survey  and  plat  shall  be  made  as  on  unsurveyed 
lands :  Provided,  That  proceedings  now  pending  may  be  prosecuted  to  their  final 
determination  under  existing  laws  ;  but  the  provisions  of  this  act,  when  not  in  con- 
flict with  existing  laws,  shall  apply  to  such  cases  :  And  provided  also,  That  where  by 
the  segregation  of  mineral  land  in  any  legal  subdivision  a  quantity  of  agricultural 
landless  than  forty  acres  remains,  said  fractional  portion  of  agricultural  land  may 
be  entered  by  any  party  qualified  by  law  for  homestead  or  pre-emption  purposes. 

Sec.  10  oi  the  act  of  1870,  IG  U.  S.  Stat.  214,  read :  Sec.  16.  That  so  much  of  the 
act  of  March  third,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-three,  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for 
the  survey  of  the  public  lands  in  California,  the  granting  of  pre-emption  rights,  and 
for  other  purposes,"  as  provides  that  none  other  than  township  lines  shall  be  sur- 
veyed where  the  lands  are  mineral,  is  hereby  repealed.  And  the  public  surveys  are 
hereby  extended  over  all  such  lands :  Provided,  That  all  subdividing  of  surveyed 
lands  into  lots  less  than  one  hundi-ed  and  sixty  acres  may  be  done  by  county  and  local 
surveyors  at  the  expense  of  the  claimants :  And  provided  further,  That  nothing 
herein  contained  shall  require  the  survey  of  waste  or  useless  lands. 

See  §§  2329,  2334. 

Sec.  2332.  Evidence  of  possession  to  establish  right  to  patent. 

Where  such  person  or  association,  they  and  their  grant- 
ors, have  held  and  worked  their  claims  for  a  period  equal  to 
the  time  prescribed  by  the  statute  of  limitations  for  mining- 
claims  of  the  State  or  Territory  where  the  same  may  be  sit- 
uated, evidence  of  such  possession  and  working  of  the 
claims  for  such  period  shall  be  sufficient  to  establish  a  righi 
to  a  patent  thereto  under  this  chajJter,  in  the  absence  of  any 
adverse  claim ;  but  nothing  in  this  chapter  shall  be  deemed 
to  impair  any  lien  which  may  have  attached  in  any  way 
whatever  to  any  mining-claim  or  property  thereto  attached 
prior  to  the  issuance  of  a  patent. 


REVISED  STATUTES.  !■' 


'■  Sec.  13  of  the  act  of  1870,  IGU.  S.  Stat.  •2i7,.reaa:  Sec.  13.  Tliat  where  said  person 
or  association,  they  and  tlieir  grantors,  shall  have  hold  and  worked  their  said  claims  for 
a  perioa  equal  to  the  time  prescribed  Iw  the  statute  of  limitations  for  mining-claims 
of  the  State  or  territory  where  the  same  may  he  situated,  evidence  of  such  possession 
and  working  of  the  claims  for  such  period  shall  bo  sufRcient  to  establisli  a  right  to 
a  patent  thereto  under  this  act,  in  the  absence  of  any  adverse  claim  :  Prodded  how- 
ever,.That  nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  deemed  to  impair  any  lien  which  may  have 
attached  in  any  way  whatever  to  any  mining-claim  or  property  thereto  attached  prior 
to  the  issuance  of  a  patent. 
See  §  232i. 


Sec.  2333.  Proceedings  for  patent  for  placer  claim,  etc. 

Where  the  same  person,  associatiou  or  corporation  is  in 
possession  of  a  placer-claim,  and  also  a  vein  or  lode  included 
within  the  boundaries  thereof,  application  shall  be  made  for 
a  patent  for  the  placer-claim,  with  the  statement  that  it 
includes  such  vein  or  lode,  and  in  such  case-  a  patent  shall 
issue  for  the  placer-claim,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 
chapter,  including  such  vein  or  lode,  upon  the  ])ayraout  of 
five  dollars  per  acre  for  such  vein  or  lode  claim,  and  twenty- 
five  feet  of  surface  on  each  side  thereof.  The  remainder  of 
the  placer-claim,  or  any  placer-claim  not  embracing  any  vein 
or  lode  claim,  shall  be  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  two  dollars  and 
fifty  cents  per  acre,  together  with  all  costs  of  proceedings ; 
and  where  a  vein  or  lode,  such  as  is  described  in  section 
twenty-three  hundred  and  twenty,  is  known  to  exist  within 
the  boundaries  of  a  placer-claim,  an  application  for  a  patent 
for  such  placer-claim,  which  does  not  include  an  application 
for  the  vein  or  lode  claim  shall  be  construed  as  a  conclusive 
declaration  that  the  claimant  of  the  placer-claim  has  no  right 
of  possession  of  the  vein  or  lode  claim  ;  but  where  the  exist- 
ence of  a  vein  or  lode  in  a  placer-claim  is  not  known,  a  patent 
for  the  placer-claim  shall  convey  all  valuable  mineral  and 
other  deposits  within  the  boundaries  thereof. 

♦  Sec.  11  of  the  act  of  1872, 17  U.'S.  Stat.  91,  was  the  same  as  the  abovo,  with  the 
.nddition  of  tlie  words  following,  in  ])arenthesi3,  after  the  words  "  and  in  such  case," 
fifth  line  :  (subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  act  and  the  ac  entitled  "  An  act  to  amend 
an  act  granting  tlie  right  of  way  to  ditch  and  canal  owners  over  the  jiuJilic  land,-, 
and  for  other  purposes,"  approved  July  ninth,  eighteen  hundred  and  SCYCCt/,)  inliuu 
of  the  words,  "  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  chapter." 

Sec  §  2325. 


20  EEVISED   STATUTES. 


Sec.  2334:o  Siiryeyor- general  to  appoint  surveyors  of  mining;  claims. 

The  surveyor-generaw.  of  the  United  States  may  appoint  in 
each  laud-clistrict  containing  mineral  lands  as  many  compe- 
tent surveyors  as  shall  apply  for  appointment  to  survey  min- 
ing-claims. The  expenses  of  the  survey  of  vein  or  lode 
claims,  and  the  survey  and  subdivision  of  placer-claims  into 
smaller  quantities  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  together 
with  the  cost  of  publication  of  notices,  shall  be  paid  by  the 
applicants,  and  they  shall  be  at  liberty  to  obtain  the  same 
at  the  most  reasonable  rates,  and  they  shall  also  be  at  lib- 
erty to  employ  any  United  States  deputy  surveyor  to  make 
the  survey.  The  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land-Office 
shall  also  have  power  to  establish  the  maximum  charges  for 
surveys  and  publication  of  notices  under  this  chapter  ;  and, 
in  case  of  excessive  charges  for  publication,  he  may  desig- 
nate any  newspaper  published  in  a  land-district  where  mines 
are  situated,  for  the  publication  of  mining-notices  in  such 
district,  and  fix  the  rates  to  be  charged  b}^  such  paper ;  and 
to  the  end  that  the  commissioner  may  be  fully  informed  on 
the  subject,  each  applicant  shall  file  with  the  register  a  sworn 
statement  of  all  charges  and  fees  paid  by  such  api^licant  for 
publication  and  surveys,  together  with  all  fees  and  money 
paid  the  register  and  the  receiver  of  the  land-office,  which 
statement  shall  be  transmitted  with  the  other  papers  in  the 
case  to  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land-Office. 

Sec.  12  of  the  act  of  1S72,  17  U.  S.  Stat.  95,  was  the  same  as  the  above,  with  the  fol- 
lowing acTuition  :  '■  The  fees  of  the  register  and  the  receiver  shall  be  five  dollars  each 
for  filing  and  acting  upon  each  application  for  patent  or  adverse  claim  filed,  and  they 
shall  be  allowed  the  anfonnt  fixed  by  law  for  reducing  testimony  to  writing,  when 
done  in  the  land-office,  such  fees  and  allowances  to  be  paid  by  the  respective  parties  ; 
and  no  other  fees  shall  be  charged  by  them  in  such  ca^es.  Nothing  in  this  act  shall 
be  construed  to  enlarge  or  affect  the  rights  of  either  party  in  regard  to  any  property 
in  controversy  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  this  act,  or  of  the  act  entitled  'An  act 
gi'anting  the  right  of  way  to  ditch  and  canal  owners  over  the  public  lands,  and  for 
other  purposes,'  approved  July  twenty-sixth,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-six,  nor 
shall  this  act  affect  any  right  acquired  under  said  act ;  and  nothing  in  this  act  shall 
be  construed  to  repeal,  impair,  or  in  any  way  affect  the  provisions  of  the  act  entitled 
'An  act  granting  to  A.  Sutro  the  right  of  way  and  other  privileges  to  aid  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  draining  and  exploring  tunnel  to  the  Comstock  lode,  in  the  State  of 
Nevada,'  approved  July  twenty-fifth,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty  six." 

For  fees  of  registers  and  receivers,  see  §  2238. 

See  §§2330,  2331,2400. 


KEVlriED   STATUTES.  21 


Sec.  2335.  Verification  of  affidavits,  etc. 

All  affidaTits  required  to  be  made  under  this  chapter  may 
be  verified  before  any  officer  authorized  to  administer  oaths 
within  the  land-district  where  the  claims  may  be  situated, 
and  all  testimony  and  proofs  may  be  taken  before  any  such 
officer,  and  when  duly  certified  by  the  officer  taking  the  same, 
shall  have  the  same  force  and  effect  as  if  taken  before  the 
register  and  receiver  of  the  land-office.  In  cases  of  contest 
as  to  the  mineral  or  agricultural  character  of  land,  the 
testimony  and  proofs  may  be  taken  as  herein  provided,  on 
personal  notice  of  at  least  ten  days  to  the  opposing  party ; 
or  if  such  party  cannot  be  found,  then  by  publication  of  at 
least  once  a  week  for  thirty  days  in  a  newspaper,  to  be  desig- 
nated by  the  register  of  the  land-office  as  published  nearest 
to  the  location  of  such  land ;  and  the  register  shall  require 
proof  that  such  notice  has  been  given. 

Sec.  13  of  the  act  of  1S72,  17  U.  S.  Stat.  95,  Avas  the  same  as  the  above. 

Sec.  U  of  the  act  of  1870, 16  U.  S.  Stat.  217,  read :    Sec.  14.   That  all  ex  parte  affi- 
davits required  to  be  made  under  this  act,  or  the  act  of  which  it  is  amendatory,  may 
be  verified  before  any  officer  authorized  to  administer  oaths  within  the  land  district 
where  the  claims  may  be  situated. 
See  §  2321. 

Sec.  2336.  Where  veins  intersect,  etc. 

Where  two  or  more  veins  intersect  or  cross  each  other, 
priority  of  title  shall  govern,  and  such  prior  location  shall 
be  entitled  to  all  ore  or  mineral  contained  within  the  space 
of  intersection  ;  but  the  subsequent  location  shall  have  the 
right  of  way  through  the  space  of  intersection  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  convenient  working  of  the  mine.  And  where  two 
or  more  veins  unite,  the  oldest  or  jjrior  location  shall  take 
the  vein  below  the  point  of  union,  including  all  the  space  of 
intersection. 

Sec.  14  of  the  act  of  1872,  17  U.  S.  Stat.  96,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 

Sec.  2337.  Patents  for  non-mineral  lands,  etc. 

Where  non-mineral  land  not  contiguous  to  the  vein  or  lode 
is  used  or  occupied  by  the  proprietor  of  such  vein  or  lod^ 
for  mining  or  milling  purposes,  such  non-adjacent  surface- 


22  REVISED   STATUTES. 


ground  may  be  embraced  and  included  in  an  application  foi 
a  patent  for  such  vein  or  lode,  and  the  same  may  be  patented 
therewith,  subject  to  the  same  preliminary  requirements  as 
to  survey  and  notice  as  are  applicable  to  veins  or  lodes  ;  but 
no  location  hereafter  made  of  such  non-adjacent  land  shall 
exceed  five  acres,  and  payment  for  the  same  must  be  made 
at  the  same  rate  as  fixed  by  this  chapter  for  the  superfices  of 
the  lode.  The  owner  of  a  quartz-mill  or  reduction-works 
not  owning  a  mine  in  connection  therewith  may  also  receive 
a  patent  for  his  mill-site,  as  provided  in  this  section. 

Sec.  15  of  the  act  of  1872, 17  U.  S.  Stat.  9G,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 
See  §§  2320,  2324. 

Sec.  2338.  State  or  territorial  legislation  concerniug  mineral  lands. 

As  a  condition  of  sale  in  the  absence  of  necessary  legisla- 
tion by  Congress,  the  local  legislature  of  any  State  or  Terri- 
tory may  provide  rules  for  working  mines,  involving  ease- 
ments, drainage,  and  other  necessary  means  to  their  com- 
plete development ;  and  those  conditions  shall  be  fully 
expressed  in  the  patent. 

Sec.  5  of  the  act  of  1866, 14  U.  S.  Stat.  252,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 

Sec.  2339.  Vested  rights  to  use  of  water  |  right  of  way  for  canals,  etc. 

Whenever,  by  priority  of  possession,  rights  to  the  use  of 
water  for  mining,  agricultural,  manufacturing,  or  other  pur- 
poses, have  vested  and  accrued,  and  the  same  are  recognized 
and  acknowledged  by  the  local  customs,  laws,  and  the  decis- 
ions of  courts,  the  possessors  and  owners  of  such  vested 
rights  shall  be  maintained  and  protected  in  the  same ;  and 
the  right  of  way  for  the  construction  of  .ditches  and  canals 
for  the  purposes  herein  specified  is  acknowledged  and  con- 
firmed; but  whenever  any  person,  in  the  construction  of  any 
ditch  or  canal,  injures  or  damages  the  possession  of  any 
settler  on  the  public  domain,  the  party  committing  such 
injury  or  damage  shall  be  liable  to  the  party  injured  for 
such  injury  or  damage. 

Sec.  9  of  the  act  of  1866, 14  U.  S.  Stat.  253,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 
See  §  2324 


EEVISED   STATUTES.  23 


Sec.  2340.  Patents,  etc.,  subject  to  Tested  water-rights. 

All  patents  granted,  or  pre-emption  or  homesteads  allowed, 
shall  be  subject  to  any  vested  and  accrued  water-rights,  or 
rights  to  ditches  and  reservoirs  used  in  connection  with 
such  water-rights,  as  may  have  been  acquired  under  or  rec- 
ognized by  the  preceding  section. 

Sec.  17  of  the  act  of  1870,  IG  U.  S.  Stat.  21S,  read:  Sec.  17.  That  none  of  the 
rights  conferred  by  sections  five,  ei^ht  and  nine  of  the  act  to  which  this  act  is  amend- 
atory shall  be  abrogated  by  this  act,  and  the  same  are  hereby  extended  to  all  public 
lands  affected  by  this  act ;  and  all  patents  granted,  or  pre-emption  or  homesteads 
allowed,  shall  be  subject  to  any  vested  and  accrued  water-rights,  or  rights  to  ditches 
and  reservoirs  used  in  connection  with  such  water-rights  as  may  have  been  acquired 
under  or  recognized  by  the  ninth  section  of  the  act  of  which  tliis  act  is  amendatory. 
But  nothing  ki  this  act  shall  be  construed  to  repeal,  impair,  or  in  any  way  affect  the 
provisions  of  the  "Act  granting  to  A.  Sutro  the  right  of  way  and  other  privileges  to 
aid  in  the  construction  of  a  draining  and  exploring  tunnel  to  the  Comstock  lode,  in 
the  State  of  Xevada,"  approved  July  twenty-fifth,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-six. 

See  notes  to  §§  2338,2339,  2344. 

Sec.  2341.  Non-ininerai  lanas  open  to  nomesteads. 

Wherever,  upon  the  lands  heretofore  designated  as  min- 
eral lands,  which  have  been  excluded  from  survey  and  sale, 
there  have  been  homesteads  made  by  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  or  persons  who  have  declared  their  intention  to 
become  citizens,  which  homesteads  have  been  made,  im- 
proved, and  used  for  agricultural  purposes,  and  upon  which 
there  have  been  no  valuable  mines  of  gold,  silver,  cinnabar, 
or  copper  discovered,  and  which  are  properly  agricultural 
lands,  the  settlers  or  owners  of  such  homesteads  shall  have 
a  right  of  pre-emption  thereto,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  pur- 
chase the  same  at  the  price  of  one  dollar  and  twenty-fivo 
cents  per  acre,  and  in  quantity  not  to  exceed  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  ;  or  they  may  avail  themselves  of  the  provis- 
ions of  chapter  five  of  this  title  relating  to  "  Homesteads." 

Sec.  10  of  the  act  of  18G6, 14  U.  S.  Stat.  233,  was  substantially  the  same  as  the  above, 
with  the  addition  of  the  following  words,  after  the  words  "  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,"  thirteenth  line  :  "  or  said  panics  may  avail  themselves  of  the  provisions  of  the 
act  of  Congress,  approved  May  twentieth,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  entitled 
'An  act  to  secure  homesteads  to  actual  settlera  on  the  public  domain,'  and  acta 
amendatory  thereof." 

See  §  2342. 


24  '  REVISED   STATUTES. 


Sec.  2312.  Mineral  lands,  how  set  apart  as  agricultural. 

Upon  tlie  survey  of  the  lands  described  in  the  preceding 
section,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  may  designate  and  set 
apart  such  portions  of  the  same  as  are  clearly  agricultural 
lands,  which  lands  shall  thereafter  be  subject  to  pre-emption 
and  sale  as  other  public  lands,  and  be  subject  to  all  the  laws 
and  regulations  applicable  to  the  same. 

Sec.  11  of  the  act  of  1866,  14  U.  S.  Stat.  253,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 
See  §  2341,  2258. 

Sec.  2343.  Power  of  the  President  to  provide  districts  and  officers. 

The  President  is  authorized  to  establish  additional  land- 
districts,  and  to  appoint  the  necessary  officers  under  existing 
laws,  wherever  he  may  deem  the  same  necessary  for  the 
public  convenience  in  executing  the  provisions  of  this 
chapter. 

Sec.  7  of  the  act  of  1866, 14  U.  S.  Stat.  252,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 

Sec.  2344.  Provisions  of  this  chapter  not  to  affect  certain  rights. 

Nothing  contained  in  this  chapter  shall  be  construed  to 
impair,  in  any  way,  rights  or  interests  in  mining  property 
acquired  under  existing  laws ;  nor  to  affect  the  provisions  of 
the  act  entitled,  "An  act  granting  to  A.  Sutro  the  right  of 
way  and  other  privileges  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  ?i. 
draining  and  exploring  tunnel  to  the  Comstock  lode,  in  the 
State  of  Nevada,"  approved  July  twenty-five,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six. 

For  Sec.  17  of  the  act  of  1870, 16  U.  S.  Stat.  218,  see  note  to  Sec.  2340,  ante. 

Sec.  8  of  the  act  of  1866, 14  U.  S.  Stat.  253,  read :  Sec.  8.  That  the  right  of  way 
for  the  construction  of  highways  over  public  lands,  not  reserved  for  public  uses,  is 
hereby  granted. 

The  last  clause  of  Sec.  16  of  act  of  1872, 17  U.  S.  Stat.  96,  read  as  follows  :  "  Pro- 
Xiided,  That  nothing  contained  in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to  impair,  in  any  way. 
rights  or  interests  in  mining  property  acquu'ed  under  existing  laws.' 

For  Sutro  Tunnel  Act,  see  appendix. 

Sec.  2345.  Mineral  lands  in  certain  States  excepted. 

The  provisions  of  the  preceding  sections  of  this  chapter 
shall  not  apply  to  the  mineral  lands  situated  in  the  States 
of  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota,  which  are  declared 


KEVISED   STATUTES.  25 


free  and  open  to  exploration  and  purchase,  according  to 
legal  subdivisions  in  like  manner  as  before  the  tenth  day  of 
May,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two  ;  and  any  bona-fide 
entries  of  such  lands  within  the  States  named,  since  the 
tenth  day  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two,  may 
be  patented  without  reference  to  any  of  the  foregoing  pro- 
visions of  this  chapter.  Such  lands  shall  be  offered  for  pub- 
lic sale  in  the  same  manner,  at  the  same  minimum  price,  and 
under  the  same  rights  of  pre-emption  as  other  public  lands. 

Act  of  Feb.  18, 1873,  17  U.  S.  Stat.  465,  is  to  the  same  efifect.. 

Sec.  2  346.  What  grants  not  to  include  mineral  land!^ 

No  act  passed  at  the  first  session  of  the  Thirty-eighth 
Congress,  granting  lauds  to  States  or  corporations  to  aid  in 
the  construction  of  roads  or  for  other  purposes,  or  to  extend 
the  time  of  grants  made  prior  to  the  thirtieth  day  of  Janu- 
ary, eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five,  shall  be  so  construed 
as  to  embrace  mineral  lands,  which,  in  all  cases  are  reserved 
exclusively  to  the  United  States,  unless  otherwise  specially 
provided  in  the  act  or  acts  making  the  grant. 

Act  of  Jan.  30, 1863,  13  U.  S.  Stat.  567,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 

Sec.  2347.  Entry  of  coal-lands. 

Every  person  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  who  is  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  who  has  declared  his  inten- 
tion to  become  such,  or  any  association  of  persons  severally, 
qualified  as  above,  shall,  upon  application  to  the  regis- 
ter of  the  proper  land-office,  have  the  right  to  enter  by  legal 
subdivisions  any  quantity  of  vacant  coal-lands  of  the  United 
States  not  otherwise  appropriated  or  reserved  by  competent 
Huthority,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  to  such 
individual  person,  or  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  to  such 
association,  upon  payment  to  the  receiver  of  not  less  than 
ten  dollars  per  acre,  for  such  lauds  where  the  same  shall  be 
situated  more  than  fifteen  miles  from  any  completed  railroad, 
and  not  less  than  twenty  dollars  per  acre  for  such  lands  as 
shall  be  within  fifteen  miles  of  such  road. 

Sec.  1,  act  of  1873,  17  U.  S.  Stat.  607,  is  identical  with  the  above. 


26  REVISED    STATUTES. 


-^f 


Sec.  2348.  rre-emption  of  coal-lands. 

Any  person  or  association  of  persons  severally  qualified  as 
above  provided,  who  have  opened  and  improved,  or  shall 
hereafter  open  and  improve  any.  coal  mine  or  mines  upon  the 
public  lands,  and  shall  be  in  actual  possession  of  the  same, 
shall  be  entitled  to  a  preference-right  of  entry  under  the 
preceding  section,  of  the  mines  so  opened  and  improved  : 
Provided,  That  when  any  association  of  not  less  than  four 
persons,  severally  qualified  as  above  jjrovided,  shall  have 
expended  not  less  than  five  thousand  dollars  in  working  and 
improving  any  such  mine  or  mines,  such  association  may 
enter  not  exceeding  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  including 
such  mining  improvements. 

Sec,  2,  act  of  1873, 17  U.  S.  Stat.  607,  is  identical  with  the  above. 

Sec.  2349.  Pre-emption  of  coal-lands ;  when  claims  to  be  presented. 

All  claims  under  the  preceding  section  must  be  presented 
to  the  register  of  the  proper  land-district  within  sixty  days 
after  the  dato  of  actual  possession  and  the  commencement 
of  improvements  on  the  land,  by  the  filing  of  a  declaratory 
statement  therefor ;  but  when  the  township  plat  is  not  on 
file  at  the  date  of  such  improvement,  filing  must  be  made 
within  sixty  days  from  the  receipt  of  such  plat  at  the  district 
ofiice ;  and  where  the  improvements  shall  have  been  made 
prior  to  the  expiration  of  three  months  from  the  thifd  day 
of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-three,  sixty  days 
from  the  expiration  of  such  three  months  shall  be  allowed 
for  the  filing  of  a  declaratory  statement,  and  no  sale  under 
the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be  allowed  until  the  expi- 
ration of  six  months  from  the  third  day  of  March,  eighteen 
hundred  and  seventy- three. 

Sec.  3,  act  of  1S73,  17  U.  S.  Stat.  GOT,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 

Sec.  2350.  Only  one  entry  allowed. 

The  three  preceding  sections  shall  be  held  to  authorize 
only  one  entry  by  the  same  person  or  association  of  persons; 
and  no  association  of  persons,  any  member  of  which  shall 


REVISED   STATUTES.  27 


have  taken  tlie  benefit  of  such  sections,  either  as  an  individ- 
ual or  as  a  member  of  any  other  association,  shall  enter  or 
hold  any  other  lands  under  the  provisions  thereof ;  and  no 
member  of  any  association  which  shall  have  taken  the  bene- 
fit of  such  section  shall  enter  or  hold  any  other  lands  under 
their  provisions  ;  and  all  persons  claiming  under  section 
twenty-three  hundred  and  forty-eight  shall  be  required  to 
prove  their  respective  rights  and  pay  for  the  lands  filed  upon 
within  one  year  from  the  time  prescribed  for  filing  their 
respective  claims  ;  and  upon  failure  to  file  the  proper  notice 
or  to  pay  for  the  land  within  the  required  period,  the  same 
shall  be  subject  to  entry  by  any  other  qualified  applicant. 

Sec.  4,  act  of  1873, 17  U.  S.  Stat.  607,  was  the  same  as  the  above. 

Sec.  2351.  Conflicting  claims. 

In  case  of  conflicting  claims  upon  coal-lands  where  the 
improvements  shall  be  commenced  after  the  third  day  of 
March,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy -three,  priority  of  pos- 
session and  improvement,  followed  by  proper  filing  and 
3ontinued  good  faith,  shall  determine  the  preference-right  to 
purchase.  And  also  where  improvements  have  already  been 
made  prior  to  the  third  day  of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-three,  division  of  the  land  claimed  may  be  made  by 
legal  subdivisions,  to  include  as  near  as  may  be  the  valuable 
improvements  of  the  respective  parties.  The  Commissioner 
of  the  General  Land-Office  is  authorized  to  issue  all  needful 
rules  and  regulations  for  carrying  into  effect  the  provisions 
of  this  and  the  four  preceding  sections. 

Sec.  5,  act  of  1873, 17  U.  S.  Stat.  C07,  was  the  same  as  the  above.  { 

Sec.  2352.  Existing  riijhts. 

Nothing  in  the  five  preceding  sections  shall  be  construed 
to  destroy  or  impair  any  rights  which  may  have  attached 
prior  to  the  third  day  of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-three, or  to  authorize  the  sale  of  lands  valuable  for 
mines  of  gold,  silver,  or  copper. 

Sec.  6,  act  of  1873,  17  U.  S.  Stat.  607,  was  the  same  as  the  above.  , 


28  EEVISED   STATUTES. 


MISCELLANEOUS  PEOVISIONSi 

Section  910.    Possessory  actions  for  recovery  of  mining  titles. 
2238.    Fees  and  commissions  of  registers  and  receivers. 
2258.     J^ands  not  sitbject  to  pre-emption. 
2386.     Title  to  town-lots  subject  to  mineral  rights. 
2i06.    Public  surveys  exten  led  over  mineral  lands. 
2i71.    Penalty  for  false  making  or  alteiing  instruments  conceming  mineral 

lands  ill  California. 
2472.    Penalty  for  false  making  or  dating  instruments  concerning  mineral 

lands  on  Mexican  grants  in  California. 
2473..   Penalty  for  presenting  false  or  counterfeited  papers,  or  prosecuting 

f.auduleut  suit  for  mineral  lands  in  Galifornia. 


Sec.  910.  Possessor,?  uctious  eoncerumi'  nilnia;?  titles. 

No  possessory  action  between  persons,  in  any  court  of  the 
United  States,  for  the  recovery  of  any  mining  title,  or  for 
damages  to  any  such  title,  shall  be  affected  by  the  fact  that 
the  paramount  title  to  the  land  in  which  such  mines  lie  is  in 
the  United  States  ;  but  each  case  shall  be  adjudged  by  the 
law  of  possession. 

Sec.  9,  act  of  Feb.  27, 1865,  13  U.  S.  Stat.  441. 

Sec.  2238.  Registers'  and  Eeceirers'  fees  and  commissions. 

Kegisters  and  receivers,  in  addition  to  their  salaries,  shall 
be  allowed  each  the  following  fees  and  commissions,  namely : 

1.  A  fee  of  one  dollar  for  each  declaratory  statement  filed 
and  for  services  in  acting  on  pre-emption  claims. 

2.  A  commission  of  one  per  centum  on  all  moneys  received 
at  each  receiver's  office. 

3.  A  commission  to  be  paid  by  the  homestead  applicant, 
at  the  time  of  entry,  of  one  per  centum  on  the  cash  price,  as 
fixed  by  law,  of  the  land  applied  for  ;  and  a  like  commission 
when  the  claim  is  finally  established,  and  the  certificate 
therefor  issued  as  the  basis  of  a  patent. 

4.  The  same  commission  on  lands  entered  under  any  law 
to  encourage  the  growth  of  timber  on  western  prairies,  as 
allowed  when  the  like  quantity  of  land  is  entered  with  money. 

5.  For  locating  military  bounty -land  warrants,  issued 
since  the  eleventh  day  of  February,  eighteen  hundred  and 


l 


REVISED   STATUTES.  20 


forty-seven,  and  for  locating  agricultural-college  land-scrip, 
the  same  commission,  to  be  paid  by  the  holder  or  assignee 
of  each  warrant  or  scrip,  as  is  allowed  for  sales  of  the  public 
lands  for  oasli,  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  and  twenty -five  cents 
per  acre. 

6.  A  fee,  in  donation  cases,  of  five  dollars  for  each  final 
certificate  for  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  ten  dol- 
lars for  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and  fifteen  dollars 
for  six  hundred  and  forty  acres. 

7.  In  the  location  of  lands  by  States  and  corporations 
under  grants  from  Congress  for  railroads  and  other  purposes, 
(except  for  agricultural  colleges,)  a  fee  of  one  dollar  for 
each  final  location  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres ;  to  be 
paid  by  the  State  or  corporation  making  such  location. 

8.  A  fee  of  five  dollars  per  diem  for  superintending  public- 
land  sales  at  their  respective  offices ;  and,  to  each  receiver, 
mileage  in  going  to  and  returning  from  depositing  the  public 
moneys  received  by  him. 

9.  A  fee  of  five  dollars  for  filing  and  acting  upon  each 
application  for  patent  or  adverse  claim  filed  for  mineral 
lands,  to  be  paid  by  the  respective  parties. 

10.  Registers  and  receivers  are  allowed,  jointly,  at  the 
rate  of  fifteen  cents  per  hundred  words  for  testimony  reduced 
by  them  to  writing  for  claimants,  in  establishing  pre-emp- 
tion and  homestead  rights. 

11.  A  like  fee  as  provided  in  the  preceding  subdivision, 
when  such  writing  is  done  in  the  land-office,  in  establishing 
claims  for  mineral  lands. 

12.  Registers  and  receivers  in  California,  Oregon,  Wash- 
ington, Nevada,  Colorado,  Idaho,  New  Mexico,  Arizona, 
Utah,  Wyoming,  and  Montana,  are  each  entitled  to  collect 
and  receive  fifty  per  centum  on  the  fees  and  commissions 
provided  for  in  the  first,  third,  and  tenth  subdivisions  of 
this  section. 

The  subdivisions,  'J  and  11,  relating  to  mineral  lands,  are  substantially  same  as 
Sec.  12  of  act  of  May  1'),  1872,  17  U.  S.  Stat.  95. 
See  note  to  Sec.  2331. 


30  EEYISED   STATUTES. 


Sec.  2258.  Lands  not  subject  to  i)re=emption. 

The  following  classes  of  lands,  unless  otherwise  specially 
provided  for  by  law,  shall  not  be  subject  to  the  rights  of 
pre-emption,  to  wit :  , 

1.  Lands  included  in  any  reservation  by  any  treaty,  law, 
or  proclamation  of  the  President,  for  any  x^urpose. 

2.  Lands  included  within  the  limits  of  any  incorpor2^i;ed 
town,  or  selected  as  the  site  of  a  city  or  town. 

3.  Lands  actually  settled  and  occupied  for  purposes  of 
trade  and  business,  and  not  for  agriculture. 

4.  Lands  on  which  are  situated  any  known  salines  or 
mines. 

Snc.  10,  act  of  Sept.  4,  1841,  5  U.  S.  Stat.  455. 
See  §  3242. 

Sec.  2386.  Title  to  town-lots  subject  to  mineral  rights. 

Where  mineral  veins  are  possessed,  which  possession  is 
recognized  by  local  authority,  and  to  the  extent  so  possessed 
and  recognized,  the  title  to  town-lots  to  be  acquired  shall 
be  subject  to  such  recognized  possession  and  the  necessary 
use  thereof ;  but  nothing  contained  in  this  section  sha,ll  be 
30  construed  as  to  recognize  any  color  of  title  in  possessors 
for  mining  purposes,  as  against  the  United  States. 

Sec.  2,  act  of  March  3,  1865, 13  U.  S.  Stat.  630. 

Sec.  2406.  Public  surveys  extended  over  mineral  lands. 

There  shall  be  no  further  geological  survey  ly  the  Gov- 
ernment, unless  hereafter  authorized  by  law.  The  public 
surveys  shall  extend  over  all  mineral  lands ;  and  all  subdi- 
viding of  surveyed  lands  into  lots  less  than  one  ]\undred  and 
sixty  acres  may  be  done  by  county  and  local  surveyors  at 
the  expense  of  claimants ;  but  nothing  in  this  section  con- 
tained shall  require  the  survey  of  waste  or  useless  lands. 

Sec.  9,  act  of  July  9,  1S70, 16  U.  S.  Stat.  218. 
See  §  2334. 

Sec.  2471.  Penalty  for  offences  concerning  mineral  lands  in  California. 

Every  person  who  falsely  makes,  alters,  forges,  or  coun- 
terfeits, or  causes  or  procures  to  be  falsely  made,  altered, 


EEVISED   STATUTES.  31 


forged  or  counterfeited ;  or  willingly  aids  and  assists  in  the 
false  making,  altering,  forging,  or  counterfeiting  any  petition, 
certificate,  order,  report,  decree,  concession,  denouncement, 
deed,  patent,  confirmation,  diserio,  map,  expediente,  or  part 
of  an  expediente,  or  any  title-paper,  or  evidence  of  right, 
title,  or  claim  to  lands,  mines,  or  minerals  in  California,  or 
any  instrument  of  writing  whatever  in  relation  to  lands  or 
mines  or  minerals  in  the  State  of  California,  for  the  purpose 
of  setting  up  or  establishing  against  the  United  States  any 
claim,  right,  or  title  to  lands,  mines,  or  minerals  within  the 
State  of  California,  or  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  any  per- 
son to  set  up  or  establish  any  such  claim  ;  and  every  person, 
who,  for  such  purpose,  utters  or  publishes  as  true  and  gen- 
uine any  such  false,  forged,  altered,  or  counterfeited  petition, 
certificate,  order,  report,  decree,  concession,  denouncement, 
deed,  patent,  confirmation,  diseno,  map,  expediente  or  part 
of  an  expediente,  title-paper,  evidence  of  right,  title,  or  claim 
to  lands  or  mines  or  minerals  in  the  State  of  California,  or 
any  instrument  of  writing  whatever  in  relation  to  lands  or 
mines  or  minerals  in  the  State  of  California,  shall  be  pun- 
ishable by  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  not  less  than  three 
years  and  not  more  than  ten  years,  and  by  a  fine  of  not 
more  than  ten  thousand  dollars. 

Sec.  1,  act  of  May  18, 18")S,  11  U.  S.  Stat.  290. 

Sec.  2472.  Penalty  for  offences  concerning  Mexican  grants  in  California. 

Every  person  who  makes,  or  causes  or  procures  to  be 
made,  or  willingly  aids  and  assists  in  making  any  falsely 
dated  petition,  certificate,  order,  report,  decree,  concession, 
denouncement,  deed,  patent,  confirmation,  diseno,  map, 
expediente  or  part  of  an  expediente,  or  any  title-paper,  or 
written  evidence  of  right,  title,  or  claim,  under  Mexican 
authority,  to  any  lands,  mines,  or  minerals  in  the  State  of 
California,  or  any  instrument  of  writing  in  relation  to  lands 
or  mines  or  minerals  in  the  State  of  California,  having  a 
false  date,  or  falsely  purporting  to  be  made  by  any  Mexican 
officer  or  authority  prior  to  the  seventh  day  of  July,  eighteen 


82  REVISED   STATUTES. 


liuncTred  and  forty-six,  for  the  purpose  of  setting  up  or  estab- 
lishing any  claim  against  the  United  States  to  lands  or  mines 
or  minerals  within  the  State  of  California,  or  of  enabling  any 
person  to  set  up  or  establish  any  such  claim ;  and  every 
person  who  signs  his  name  as  governor,  secretary,  or  other 
j^ublic  officer  acting  under  Mexican  authority,  to  any  instru- 
ment of  writing  falsely  purporting  to  be  a  grant,  concession, 
or  denouncement  under  Mexican  authority,  and  during  its 
existence  in  California,  of  lands,  mines,  or  minerals,  or 
falsely  purporting  to  be  an  informe,  report,  record,  confirm- 
ation, or  other  proceeding  on  application  for  a  grant,  con- 
cession, or  denouncement  under  Mexican  authority,  during 
its  existence  in  California,  of  lands,  mines,  or  minerals, 
shall  be  punishable  as  prescribed  in  the  preceding  section. 

Sec.  2,  act  of  May  18,  1858,  11  U.  S.  Stat.  2;il. 

S,  c.  247S.  Penalty  for  prosecntina:  fraudulent  suits,  etc.,  in  California. 

Everj-  person  who,  for  the  purpose  of  setting  up  or  estab- 
lishing any  claim  against  the  United  States  to  lands,  mines, 
or  minerals  within  the  State  of  California,  presents,  or 
causes  or  procures  to  be  presented,  before  any  court,  judge, 
commission,  or  commissioner,  or  other  officer  of  the  United 
States,  any  false,  forged,  altered,  or  counterfeited  petition, 
certificate,  order,  report,  decree,  concession,  denouncement, 
deed,  patent,  diseno,  map,  expediente  or  part  of  an  expedi- 
ente,  title-paper,  or  written  evidence  of  right,  title,  or  claim 
to  lands,  minerals,  or  mines  in  the  State  of  Califoi'nia,  know- 
ing the  same  to  be  false,  forged,  altered,  or  counterfeited, 
or  any  falsely  dated  petition,  certificate,  order,  report, 
decree,  concession,  denouncement,  deed,  patent,  confirma- 
tion, diseno,  map,  expediente  or  part  of  an  expediente,  title- 
paper,  or  written  evidence  of  right,  title,  or  claim  to  lands, 
mines,  or  minerals  in  California,  knowing  the  same  to  be 
falsely  dated  ;  and  every  person  who  prosecutes  in  any  court 
of  the  United  States,  by  appeal  or  otherwise,  any  claim 
against  the  United  States  for  lands,  mines,  or  minerals  in 
California,  which  claim  is  founded  upon,  or  evidenced  by, 


EEVISED  STATUTES.  33 


any  petition,  certificate,  order,  report,  decree,  concession, 
denouncement,  deed,  patent,  confirmation,  diseno,  map, 
expediente  or  part  of  an  expediente,  title-paper,  or  written 
evidence  of  right,  title,  or  claim,  wliicli  lias  been  forged, 
altered,  counterfeited,  or  falsely  dated,  knowing  ^the  same  to 
be  forged,  altered,  counterfeited,  or  falsely  dated,  shall  be 
punishable  as  prescribed  in  section  twenty-four  hundred 
and  seventy-one. 

Sec.  3,  act  of  May  18, 1858, 11  TJ.  S.  Stat.  291. 


AMENDMENT. 


The  following  is  an  Act  of  Congress  approved  February 
11,  1875 : 

AN  ACT  to  amend  section  two  thousand  tliree  hundred  and  twenty-four  of  the  revised 
statutes,  relating  to  the  development  of  the  mining  resources  of  the  United 
States. 

Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Bepresentatwes 
of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That 
section  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty-four  of  the 
revised  statutes  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  amended  so 
that  where  a  person  or  company  has  or  may  run  a  tunnel  for 
the  purposes  of  developing  a  lode  or  lodes,  owned  by  said 
person  or  company,  the  money  so  expended  in  said  tunnel 
shall  be  taken  and  considered  as  expended  on  said  lode  or 
lodes,  whether  located  prior  to  or  since  the  passage  of  said 
act ;  and  such  person  or  company  shall  not  be  required  to 
perform  work  on  the  surface  of  said  lode  or  lodes  in  order  to 
hold  the  same  as  required  by  said  act. 

By  this  legislation  the  requirements  of  section  2324  Revised  Statutes  [5th  section 
of  the  Mining  Act  of  May  10, 1872]  in  regard  to  tlie  expenditure  upon  mining  claims, 
are  so  modified  that  money  which  has  been  or  may  be  expended  in  running  a  tunnel 
for  the  purpose  of  developing  one  or  more  lodes  owned  by  such  person  or  company, 
shall  be  considered  as  expended  upon  such  lodes. 

The  expenditures  required  upon  mining  claims  may  be  made  from  the  surface  or 
in  running  a  tunnel  for  the  development  of  such  claims. 

S.  8.  BURDETT,  Commissioner. 
V.  S.  MEN.  S.  3. 


34  TABLE  OF  REFEEENCE. 

I  EEPEALING  PEOVISION. 

Sec.  5596.  Eepealin^  ©ertain  acts  passed  prior  to  December  1st,  1873. 

All  acts  of  Congress  passed  prior  to  said  first  day  of  December,  one  thousand 
eight  hundi-eJ  and  seventy-three,  any  portion  of  which  is  embraced  in  any  section  of 
said  revision,  are  hereby  repealed,  and  the  section  applicable  thereto  shall  be  in  force 
in  lieu  thereof^  all  parts  of  such  acts  not  contained  in  such  revision,  having  been 
repealed  or  superseded  by  subsequent  acts,  or  not  being  general  or  permanent  in 
their  nature :  Provided,  That  the  incorporation  into  said  revision  of  any  genei-al  and 
permanent  provision,  taken  from  an  act  making  appropriations,  or  from  an  act  con- 
taining other  iDrovisions  of  a  private  local,  or  temporary  character,  shall  not  repeal,  or 
in  any  way  effect  any  appropiation,  or  any  provision  of  a  j^rivate,  local  or  temporary 
character,  contained  in  any  of  said  acts ;  but  the  same  shall  remain  in  force ;  and  all 
acts  of  Congress  passed  prior  to  said  last  named  day,  no  part  of  which  are  embraced 
in  said  revision,  shall  not  be  affected  or  changed  by  its  enactment. — {Approved  June 
22,  1874. 


TABLE  OP  EEPEEENOE 

Skormng  the  Corresponding  Sections  of  (lie  Mining  Statutes  of  1866,  1870  and  1872, 
and  the  Revised  Statutes. 

Mining  Stats.                                                                                             Rev.  Stats.  Sec.  Page. 

Actofl866— §   l,noteto 2319,  8 

§    2,  note  to 2325,  13 

§   3,noteto 2325,  14 

§    4,  note  to 2320,  9 

§    5 2338,  22 

§   G.noteto 2326,  15 

§    7 2343,  24 

§   8,  note  to 3344,  24 

§    9 2339,  22 

§10,noteto 2341,  23 

§11 2342,  24 

Act  of  1870— §  12,  note  to 2330,  17 

§13,noteto 2332,  19 

§14,noteto 2335,  21 

§15 2238,  28,  29 

§16,noteto 2331,  18 

§17,noteto 2340,  23 

Actofl872-§    1 2319,  8 

§    2,  note  to 2320,  9 

§3 2322,  9,10 

§    4 2323,  10 

§    5 2324,  11,  12 

§    6 2325,  12,13 

§    7 2326,  14,  15 

§    8 2327,  15 

§   9,noteto 2328,  16 

§10,noteto 2331,  18 

§11,  note  to 2333,  19 

|l2,noteto 2334,  20 

§13 2335,  21 

§14 2336,  21 

§15 2337,  21,  22 

§16,noteto 2344.  24 


INSTKUCTIONS  AND  REGULATIONS.  35 


INSTKUOTIONS   AND   REGULATIONS 


TJNDEB  THE 


mmm  statutes  of  the  united  states 

ISSUED  BY  THE  GENERAL  LAND-OFFICE. 


MINEKAX.    LANDS    OPEN    TO    EXPLOEATION,    OCCUPATION,   AND    PTIRCHASE. 

1.  It  will  be  perceived  that  the  first  section  of  said  act,  [of  May,  1872,]  leaves  the 
mineral  lands  in  the  public  domain,  surveyed  or  unsurveyed,  open  to  exploration, 
occupation,  and  purchase  by  all  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  all  those  who  have 
declared  their  intention  to  become  such. — [See  §  2319,  Rev.  Stat. 

STATUS   OF  Ij0DE-CLAI3IS  PKEVIOUSIiT  LOCATED. 

2.  By  an  examination  of  the  several  sections  of  the  foregoing  act,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  slatus  of  lode-claims  located  previous  to  the  date  thereof  is  not  changed  with 
regard  to  theii-  exter^  along  the  lode  or  width  of  surface,  such  claims  being  restricted 
and  governed  both  as  to  their  lateral  and  linear  extent  by  the  State,  territorial,  or 
local  laws,  customs,  or  regulations  which  were  in  force  in  the  respective  districts  at 
the  date  of  such  locations,  in  so  far  as  the  same  did  not  conflict  with  the  limitations 
fixed  by  the  mining  statute  of  July  26,  1866.— (14  Stat.  251.)— [See  §  2322,  Rev.  Stat. 

3.  Mining  rights  acquired  imder  such  previous  locations,  are,  however,  enlarged 
by  said  act  of  May  10, 1872,  in  the  following  respect,  viz :  The  locators  of  all  such 
previously  taken  veins  or  lodes,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  so  long  as  they  comply  with 
the  laws  of  Congress  and  with  State,  territorial,  or  local  regulations  not  in  conflic- 
therewith,  governing  mining-claims,  are  invested  by  said  act  with  the  exclusive  pos. 
sessory  right  of  all  the  surface  iTicluded  within  the  knes  of  their  locations,  and  of  all 
veins,  lodes,  or  ledges  throughout  their  entire  depth,  the  top  or  apex  of  which  lies 
inside  of  such  surface-lines  extended  downward  vertically,  although  such  veins,  lodesi 
or  ledges  may  so  far  depart  from  a  perpendicular  in  their  course  downward  as  to 
extend  outside  the  vertical  side-liues  of  such  locations  at  the  surface,  it  being 
expressly  provided,  however,  that  the  right  of  possession  to  such  outside  parts  of  said 
veins  or  ledges  shall  b«  confined  to  such  portions  thereof  as  lie  between  vertical  planes 
drawn  downward  as  aforesaid,  through  the  end-lines  of  their  locations  so  continued 
in  their  own  direction  that  such  planes  will  intersect  such  exterior  parts  of  such 
veins,  lodes,  or  ledges ;  no  right  being  granted,  however,  to  the  claimant  of  such 

^Jutside  portion  of  a  vein  or  ledge  to  enter  upon  the  surface  location  of  another  claim- 
ant.—[See  §  2322,  Rev.  Stat. 

4.  It  is  to  be  distinctly  understood,  however,  that  the  law  limits  the  possessory 
right  to  veins,  lodes,  or  ledges  ottier  than  the  one  named  in  the  original  location,  to 
such  as  were  not  adoersdy  claimed  at  the  dale  of  said  act  of  May  10,  1872,  and  that 
where  such  other  vein  or  ledge  was  so  adversely  claimed  at  that  date,  the  right  of  the 
party  so  adversely  claiming  is  in  no  way  impaired  by  said  act.— [  See  §  2320,  Rev.  Stat. 


36  INSTEUCTIONS  MD  EEaXJLATIONS. 

5.  From  and  after  the  date  of  said  act  of  Congress  [of  May,  1872,]  in  order  to 
hold  the  possessory  title  to  a  mining-claim  jp?-euioMsZ(/  located,  and  for  which  a  patent 
has  not  been  issued,  the  law  requires  that  ten  dollars  shall  be  expended  annually  in 
labor  or  improvements  on  each  claim  of  one  hundred  feet  on  the  course  of  the  vein  or 
lode  until  a  patent  shall  have  been  issued  therefor ;  but  where  a  number  of  such 
claims  are  held  in  common  upon  the  same  vein  or  lode,  the  aggregate  expenditure 
that  would  be  necessary  to  hold  all  the  claims,  at  the  rate  of  ten  dollars  per  hundred 
feet,  may  be  made  upon  any  one  claim ;  a  failure  to  comply  with  this  requirement  in 
any  one  year  subjecting  the  claim  upon  which  such  failure  occurred  to  relocation  by 
other  parties,  the  same  as  if  no  previous  location  thereof  had  ever  been  made,  unless 
the  claimants  under  the  original  location  shall  have  resumed  work  thereon  after  such 
failure  and  before  such  relocation. — [See  §  232i,  Eev.  Stat. 

6.  Upon  the  failure  of  any  one  of  several  co-ownera  of  a  vein,  lode,  or  ledge, 
which  has  not  been  patented,  to  contribute  his  proportion  of  the  expenditures  neces- 
sary to  hold  the  claim  or  claims  so  held  in  ownership  in  common,  the  co-owners  who 
have  performed  the  labor;  or  made  the  improvements  as  required  by  said  act,  may, 
at  the  expiration  of  the  year,  give  such  delinquent  co-owner  personal  notice  in  writ- 
ing, or  notice  by  publication  in  the  newspaper  published  nearest  tLs  claim,  for  at 
least  once  a  week  for  ninety  days  ;  and  if,  upon  the  expiration  of  ninety  days  after 
such  notice  in  writing,  or  upon  the  expiration  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  days  after 
the  first  newspaper  publication  of  notice,  the  delinquent  co-owner  shall  have  failed 
to  contribute  his  proportion  to  meet  such  expenditure  or  improvements,  his  interest 
in  the  claim  by  law  passes  to  his  co-owners  who  have  made  the  expenditures  or 
improvements  as  aforesaid. — [See  §  2324,  Be  v.  Stat. 

PATENTS  FOB  VEINS  OB  LODES  HEEETOFORB  ISSTJED. 

7.  Eights  under  patents  for  veins  or  lodes  heretofore  granted  under  previous 
legislation  of  Congress,  are  enlarged  by  this  act,  so  as  to  invest  the  patentee,  his  heirs 
or  assigns,  with  title  to  all  veins,  lodes,  or  ledges  throughout  their  entire  depth,  the 
top  or  apex  of  which  lies  within  the  end  and  side  boundary  lines  of  his  claim  on  the 
surface,  as  patented,  extended  downward  vertically,  although  such  veins,  lodes,  or 
ledges  may  so  far  depart  from  a  perpendicular  in  their  course  downward  as  to  extend 
outside  the  vertical  side-lines  of  the  claim  at  the  surface.  The  right  of  possession  to 
Buch  outside  parts  of  such  veins  or  ledges  to  be  confined  to  such  portions  thereof  as 
lie  between  vertical  planes  drawn  downward  through  the  end-lines  of  the  claim  at  the 
surface,  so  continued  in  their  own  direction  that  such  planes  will  intersect  such 
exterior  parts  of  such  veins  or  ledges,  it  being  expressly  provided,  however,  that  all 
veins,  lodes,  or  ledges,  the  top  or  apex  of  which  lies  inside  such  surface  locations, 
other  than  the  one  named  in  the  patent,  which  were  adversely  claimed  at  the  date  of 
said  act,  are  excluded  from  such  conveyance  by  patent. — [See  §  2322,  Eev.  Stat. 

8.  Applications  for  patents  for  mining-claims  pending  at  the  date  of  the  act  of 
May  10,  1872,  may  be  prosecuted  to  final  decision  in  the  General  Land-Oflace,  and 
where  no  adverse  rights  are  affected  thereby,  patents  will  be  issued,  in  pursuance  of 
the  provisions  of  said  act. 

MANNEE  OF  LOCATING  CLAIMS  ON  TFINS  OB  LODES. 

9.  From  and  after  the  date  of  said  act,  any  person  who  is  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  or  who  has  declared  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen,  may  locate,  record,  and 
hold  a  mining-claim  of  fifteen  hundred  linear  feet  along  the  course  of  any  mineral  vein 
or  lode  subject  to  location ;  or  an,association  of  persons,  severally  qualified  as  above, 
may  make  joint  location  of  such  claim  oi  fifteen  hundred  feet,  but  in  no  event  can  a 
location  of  a  vein  or  lode  made  subsequent  to  the  act  exceed  fifteen  hundred  feet  along 
the  course  thereof,  whatever  may  be  the  number  of  persona  composing  the  associa- 
tion.—[See  §§  2319,  2320,  Rev.  Stat 


mSTEUCTIONS  AND  REGULATIONS.  37 

10.  Witli  regard  to  the  extent  of  surface-ground  adjoining  a  vein  or  lode,  and 
claimed  for  the  the  convenient  working  thereof,  the  act  provides  that  the  lateral 
extent  of  locations  of  veins  or  lodes  made  after  its  passage  shall  in  no  case  exceed 
three  hundred  feet  on  each  side  of  the  middle  of  the  •vein  at  the  surface,  and  that  no 
such  surface  rights  shall  be  limited  by  any  mining  regulations  to  less  than  twenty- 
five  feet  on  each  side  of  the  middle  of  the  vein  at  the  surface,  except  where  adverse 
rights  existing  at  the  date  of  said  act  may  render  such  limitation  necessary,  the  end- 
lines  of  such  claims  to  be  in  all  cases  parallel  to  each  other [See  §§  2320,  2322,  Rev. 

Stat. 

11.  By  the  foregoing  it  will  be  perceived  that  no  lode-claim  located  after  the  date 
of  said  act  can  exceed  a  parallelogram  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  length  by  six  hundred 
feet  in  width,  but  whether  surface-ground  of  that  width  can  be  taken,  depends  upon 
the  local  regulations  or  State  or  territorial  laws  in  force  in  the  several  mining-dis- 
tricts ;  and  that  no  such  local  regulations  or  state  or  territorial  laws  shall  limit  a  vein 
or  lode  claim  to  less  than  fifteen  hundred  feet  along  the  course  thereof,  whether  the 
location  is  made  by  one  or  more  persons,  nor  can  surface  rights  be  limited  to  less 
than  fifty  feet  in  width,  unless  adverse  claims  existing  on  the  10th  day  of  May,  1872, 
render  such  lateral  limitation  necessary. — [See  §§  2320,  2322,  Kev.  Stat. 

12.  It  is  provided  in  said  act  that  the  miners  of  each  district  may  make  rules  and 
regulations  not  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  or  of  the  State  or  terri- 
tory in  which  such  districts  ai'e  respectively  situated,  governing  the  location,  manner 
of  recording,  and  amount  of  work  necessary  to  hold  possession  of  a  claim.  It  like- 
wise requires  that  the  location  must  be  so  distinctly  marked  on  the  ground  that  its 
boundaries  may  be  readily  traced.  This  is  a  very  important  matter,  and  locators 
cannot  exercise  too  much  care  in  defining  their  locations  at  the  outset,  inasmuch  as 
the  law  requires  that  all  records  of  mining  locations  made  subsequent  to  its  passage, 
shall  contain  the  name  or  names  of  the  locators,  the  date  of  the  location,  and  such  a 
description  of  the  claim  or  claims  located,  by  reference  to  some  natural  object  or 
permanent  monument,  as  will  identify  the  claim. — [See  §  2324,  Rev.  Stat. 

13.  The  said  act  requires  that  no  lode-claim  can  be  recorded  until  after  the  dis- 
covei'y  of  a  vein  or  lode  within  the  limits  of  the  ground  claimed ;  the  object  of  which 
provision  is  evidently  to  prevent  the  encumbering  of  the  district  mining  records 
with  useless  locations  before  sufficient  work  has  been  done  thereon  to  determine 
whether  a  vein  or  lode  has  really  been  discovered  or  not. — [See  §  2320,  Rev.  Stat. 

14.  The  claimant  should  therefore,  prior  to  recording  his  claim,  unless  the  vein 
can  be  traced  upon  the  surface,  sink  a  shaft,  or  run  a  tunnel  or  di-ift  to  a  sufficient 
depth  therein  to  discover  and  develop  a  mineral-bearing  vein,  lode,  or  crevice ;  should 
determine,  if  possible,  the  general  course  of  such  vein  in  cither  dii'ection  from  the 
point  of  discovery,  by  which  du-ection  he  will  be  govei-ned  in  marking  the  boundaries 
of  his  claim  on  the  surface,  and  should  give  the  course  and  distance  as  nearly  as 
practicable  from  the  discovery-shaft  on  the  claim,  to  some  permanent,  well-known 
points  or  objects,  such,  for  instance,  as  stone  monuments,  blazed  trees,  the  confluence 
of  streams,  point  of  intersection  of  well-known  gulches,  ravines,  or  roads,  prominent 
buttes,  hiUs,  &c.,  which  may  be  ia  the  immediate  vicinity,  and  which  will  servo  to 
perpetuate  and  fix  the  locus  of  the  claim  and  render  it  susceptible  of  identification 
from  the  description  thereof  given  in  the  record  of  locations  in  the  district— [See 
§  2321,  Rev.  Stat. 

15.  In  addition  to  the  foregoing  data,  the  claimant  should  state  the  names  of 
adjoining  claims,  or  if  none  adjoin,  ^he  relative  positions  of  the  nearest  claims ; 
should  drive  a  post  or  erect  a  monument  of  stones  at  each  corner  of  his  snrface- 
grouud,  and  at  the  point  of  discovery  or  discovery  shaft,  should  fix  a  post,  stake,  or 
board,  upon  which  should  bo  designated  the  name  of  the  lode,  the  name  or  names  of 
the  locators,  the  number  of  feet  claimed,  and  in  which  direction  from  the  point  of 
discovery ;  it  being  essential  that  the  location  notice  filed  for  record,  in  addition  to 


38  INSTEUCTIONS  AND  REGULATIONS. 

the  foregoing  description,  should  state  whether  the  entire  claim  of  €*tf>er\  hundred 
feet  is  taken  on  one  side  of  the  point  of  discovery,  or  whether  it  is  par+ly  upon  one 
and  partly  mpon  the  other  side  thereof,  and  in  the  latter  case,  how  manv  feet  are 
claimed  upon  each  side  of  such  discovery-point. — [See  §  2324,  Eev.  Stat. 

IG.  Within  a  reasonable  time,  say  twenty  days  after  the  location  shall  have  been 
marked  on  the  gi-ound,  notice  thereof,  accurately  describing  the  claim  in  manner 
aforesaid,  should  be  filed  for  record  with  the  jproper  recorder  of  the  district,  who  will 
thereupon  issue  the  usual  certificate  of  location. 

17.  In  order  to  hold  the  possessory  right  to  a  claim  of  fifteen  hundred  feet  of  a 
vein  or  lode  located  as  aforesaid,  the  act  requires  that  until  a  patent  shall  have  been 
issued  therefor,  not  less  than  one  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  labor  shall  be  performed 
or  improvements  made  thereon  during  each  year,  in  default  of  which  the  claim  will 
be  subject  to  relocation  by  any  other  party  having  the  necessary  qualifications, 
unless  the  original  locator,  his  heirs,  assigns,  or  legal  representatives,  have  resumed 
work  thereon  after  such  failure  and  before  such  relocation. — [See  §  2324,  Eev.  Stat. 

18.  The  importance  of  attending  to  these  details  iu  the  matter  of  location,  labor, 
and  expenditure  will  be  the  more  readily  perceived  when  it  is  understood  that  a  fail- 
ure to  give  the  subject  proper  attention,  may  invalidate  the  claim. 

TTTNNKL  EIGHTS. 

19.  The  fourth  section  of  the  act  [of  May,  1872,]  provides  that  where  a  tunnel  is 
run  for  the  development  of  a  vein  or  lode,  or  for  the  discovery  of  mines,  the  owners 
of  such  tunnel  shall  have  the  right  of  possession  of  all  veins  or  lodes  wilhin  three 
thousand  feet  from  the  face  of  such  tunnel  on  the  line  thereof,  not  previously  known 
to  exist,  discovered  in  such  tunnel,  to  the  same  extent  as  if  discovered  from  the  sur- 
face ;  and  locations  on  the  line  of  such  tunnel  of  veins  or  lodes  not  appearing  on  the 
surface,  made  by  other  parties  after  the  commencement  of  the  tunnel,  and  while  the 
same  is  being  prosecuted  with  reasonable  diligence,  shall  be  invalid,  but  failure  to 
prosecute  the  work  on  the  tunnel  for  six  months  shall  be  considered  as  an  abandon- 
ment of  the  right  to  all  undiscovered  veins  or  lodes  on  the  line  of  said  tunnel. — [See 
§  2323,  Eev.  Stat. 

20.  The  effect  of  this  section  is  simply  to  give  the  proprietors  of  a  mining  tunnel 
run  in  good  faith  the  possessory  right  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  of  any  blind  lodes  ciit, 
discovered,  or  intersected  by  such  tunnel,  which  were  not  previously  kno^Ti  to  exist, 
within  three  thousand  feet  from  the  face  or  point  ot  commencement  of  such  tunnel, 
and  to  prohibit  other  parties,  after  the  commencement  of  the  tunnel,  from  pros- 
pecting for  and  making  locations  of  lodes  on  the  line  thereof  and  within  said  dis- 
tance of  three  thousand  feet,  unless  such  lodes  appear  upon  the  surface  or  were  pre- 
viously known  to  exist. — [See  §  2323,  Eev.  Stat. 

21.  The  term  "face,"  as  used  in  said  section,  [4th  Sec.  of  act  of  May,  1872,]  is 
construed  and  held  to  mean  the  first  working  face  formed  iu  the  tunnel,  and  to 
signify  the  point  at  which  the  tunnel  actually  enters  cover,  it  being  from  this  point 
that  the  three  thousand  feet  are  to  be  counted,  upon  which  prospecting  is  prohibited 
as  aforesaid.— [See  §  2323,  Eev.  Stat. 

22.  To  avail  themselves  of  the  benefits  of  this  provision  of  law,  the  proprietors  of 
a  mining  tunnel  will  be  required,  at  the  time  "they  enter  cover  as  aforesaid,  to  give 
proper  notice  of  their  tunnel  location,  by  erecting  a  substantial  post,  board,  or  mon- 
ument, at  the  face  or  point  of  commencement  thei'eof,  upon  which  should  be  posted 
a  good  and  sufficient  notice,  giving  the  names  of  the  parties  or  company  claiming  the 
tunnel  right;  tlie  actual  or  proposed  course  or  direction  of  the  tunnel;  tho  bight  and 
width  thereof,  and  the  course  and  distance  from  such  face  or  point  of  commence- 
ment to  some  permanent  well  Imown  objects  in  the  vicinity  by  which  to  fix  and 
determine  the  locus  in  manner  heretofore  set  forth  applicable  to  locations  of  veins  or 
lodes,  and  at  the  time  of  posting  such  notice  they  shall,  in  order  that  miners  or 


INSTBUCTIONS  AND  REGULATIONS.  39 

prospectors  may  be  enabled  to  determine  whether  or  not  they  are  within  the  lines  of 
the  tunnel,  establish  the  boundary  lines  thereof  by  stakes  or  monuments  placed  along 
such  lines  at  proper  intervals,  to  the  terminus  of  the  three  thousand  feet  from  the 
face  or  point  of  commencement  of  the  tunnel,  and  the  lines  so  marked  will  define 
and  govern  as  to  the  specific  boundaries  within  which  prospecting  for  lodes  not  pre- 
viously known  to  exist  is  prohibited  while  work  on  the  tunnel  is  being  prosecuted 
with  reasonable  diligence. — [See  §  2323,  Eev.  Stat. 

23.  At  the  time  of  postiug  notice  and  marking  out  the  lines  of  the  tunnel  as  afore- 
said, a  full  and  correct  copy  of  such  notice  of  location  defining  the  tunnel  claim  must 
be  filed  for  record  with  the  mining  recorder  of  the  district,  to  which  notice  must  be 
attached  the  sworn  statement  or  declaration  of  the  owners,  claimants,  or  projectors 
of  such  tunnel,  setting  forth  the  facts  in  the  case ;  stating  the  amount  expended  by 
themselves  and  their  predecessors  in  interest  in  prosecuting  work  thereon ;  the  extent 
of  the  work  performed,  and  that  it  is  bona  fide  their  intention  to  prosecute  work  on 
the  tunnel  so  located  and  described  with  reasonable  diligence  for  the  development  of 
a  vein  or  lode,  or  for  the  discovery  of  mines,  or  Doth,  as  the  case  may  be. 

24.  This  notice  of  location  must  be  duly  recorded,  and,  with  the  said  sworn 
statement  attached,  kept  on  the  recorder's  files  for  future  reference. 

25.  By  a  compliance  with  the  foregoing,  much  needless  difficulty  will  be  avoided, 
and  the  way  for  the  adjustment  of  legal  rights  acquired  in  virtue  of  said  fourth  section 
of  the  act  [of  May,  1872,]  will  be  made  much  more  easy  and  certam.— [See  §  2323,  Eev. 
Stat. 

26.  This  office  will  take  particular  care  that  no  improper  advantage  is  taken  of 
this  provision  of  law  by  parties  making  or  professing  to  make  tunnel  locations,  osten- 
sibly for  the  purposes  named  in  the  statute,  but  really  for  the  purpose  of  monopolizing 
the  lands  lying  in  front  of  their  tunnels  to  the  detriment  of  the  mining  interests  and  to 
the  exclusion  of  bona  fide  prospectors  or  miners;  but  will  hold  such  tunnel  claimants 
to  a  strici  compliance  with  the  terms  of  the  act ;  and  as  reasonable  diligence  on  their 
part  in  prosecuting  the  work  is  one  of  the  essential  conditions  of  their  implied  con- 
tract, negligence  or  want  of  due  diligence  will  be  construed  as  working  a  forfeiture  of 
their  right  to  all  undiscovered  veins  on  the  line  of  such  tunnel.— [See  $  2323,  Rev. 
Stat. 

MANNEB    OF    PKOCEEDIKG    TO    OBTAIN    GOVERNMENT    TITLE    TO    VEIN    OR 

liODE   CLAIMS. 

27.  By  the  sixth  section  of  said  act,  [of  May,  1872,]  ai;thority  is  given  for  granting 
title  for  mines  by  patent  from  the  (Government,  to  any  person,  association,  or  corpor- 
ation having  the  necessary  qualifications  as  to  citizenship  and  holding  the  right  of 
possession  to  a  claim  in  compliance  with  law.— [See  §  2325,  Rev.  Stat. 

28.  The  claimant  is  required  in  the  fu-st  place  to  have  a  correct  survey  of  his 
claim  made  under  authority  of  the  surveyor-general  of  the  State  or  territory  in  which 
the  claim  lies;  such  survey  to  show  with  accuracy  the  exterior  surface  boundaries  of 
the  claim,  which  boundaries  arc  required  to  be  distinctly  marked  by  monuments  on 
the  ground— [See  §  2325,  Rev.  Stat. 

29.  The  claimant  is  then  required  to  post  a  copy  of  the  plat  of  such  survey  in  a 
conspicuous  place  upon  the  claim,  together  with  notice  of  his  intention  to  apply  for  a 
patent  therefor,  which  notice  will  give  the  date  of  posting,  the  name  of  the  claimant, 
the  name  of  the  claim,  mine,  or  lode  ;  the  mining  district  and  county ;  whether  the 
location  is  of  record,  and  if  so,  where  the  record  may  be  found  ;  the  number  of  feet 
claimed  along  the  vein  and  the  presumed  direction  thereof;  the  number  of  feet 
claimed  on  the  lode  in  each  direction  from  the  point  of  discovery,  or  other  well-defined 
place  on  the  claim;  the  name  or  names  of  adjoining  claimants  on  the  same  or  other 
lodes;  or  if  none  adjoin,  the  names  of  the  nearest  claims,  &c.— [See  §  2325,  Rev.  Stat. 


40  INSTRUCTIONS  AND   REGULATIONS. 

ISO.  After  posting  the  said  plat  and  notice  upon  the  premises,  the  claimant  will  file 
with  the  proper  regiiter  and  receiver  a  copy  of  such  plat,  and  the  field-notes  of  survey 
of  the  claim,  accompanied  by  the  affidavit  of  at  least  two  credible  witnesses  that 
such  plat  and  notice  are  posted  conspicuously  upon  the  claim,  giving  the  date  and 
place  of  such  posting  :  a  copy  of  the  notice  so  posted  to  be  attached  to,  and  form  a 
part  of,  !-aid  affidavit.— [See  §  2325,  Rev.  Stat. 

31.  Attached  to  the  field-notes  so  filed  must  be  the  sworn  statement  of  the 
claimant  that  he  has  the  possessory  right  to  the  premises  therein  described,  in  virtue 
of  a  compliance  by  himself  (and  by  his  grantors,  if  he  claims  by  purchase)  with  the 
raining  rules,  regulations,  and  customs  of  the  mining  district,  State,  or  territory  in 
which  the  claim  lies,  and  with  the  mining  laws  ot  Congress ;  such  sworn  statement  to 
narrate  briefly,  but  as  clearly  as  possible,  the  facts  constituting  such  compliance,  the 
origin  of  his  possession,  and  the  basis  of  his  claim  to  a  patent [See  §  2325,  Rev.  Stat. 

32.  This  affidavit  should  be  supported  by  appropriate  evidence  from  the  mining 
recorder's  ofQce  as  to  his  possessory  right,  as  follows,  viz :  Where  he  claims  to  be  a 
locator,  a  full,  true,  and  correct  copy  of  such  location  should  be  furnished,  as  the 
same  appears  upon  the  mining  records  ;  such  copy  to  be  attested  by  the  seal  of  the 
recorder,  or  if  he  has  no  seal,  then  he  should  make  oath  to  the  same  being  correct,  as 
shown  by  his  records ;  where  the  applicant  claims  as  a  locator  in  company  with 
others,  who  have  since  conveyed  their  interests  in  the  lode  to  him,  a  copy  of  the  orig- 
inal record  of  location  should  be  filed,  together  with  an  abstract  of  title  from  the 
proper  recorder,  under  seal  or  oath  as  aforesaid,  tracing  the  colocator's  possessory 
rights  in  the  claim  to  such  applicant  for  patent ;  where  the  applicant  claims  only  as  a 
purchaser  for  valuable  consideration,  a  copy  of  the  location  record  must  be  filed, 
imder  seal  or  upon  oath  as  aforesaid,  with  an  abstract  of  title  certified  as  above  by  the 
proper  recorder,  tracing  the  right  of  possession  by  a  continuous  cham  of  conveyances 
from  the  original  locators  to  the  applicant. 

33.  In  the  event  of  the  mining  records  in  any  case  having  been  destroyed  by  fire 
or  otherwise  lost,  affidavit  of  the  fact  should  be  made,  and  secradary  evidence  ot 
possessory  title  will  be  received,  which  may  consist  of  the  affidavit  of  the  claimant, 
supported  by  those  of  any  other  parties  cognizant  of  the  facts  relative  to  his  location, 
occupancy,  possession,  improvements,  &c. ;  and  in  such  case  of  lost  records,  any 
deeds,  certificates  of  location  or  purchase,  or  other  evidence  which  may  be  in  the 
claimant's  possession,  and  tend  to  establish  his  claim,  should  be  filed. 

34.  Upon  the  receipt  of  these  papers  the  register  will,  at  the  expense  of  the 
claimant,  publish  a  notice  of  such  application  for  the  period  of  sixty  days,  in  a  news- 
paper published  nearest  to  the  claim,  and  will  post  a  copy  of  such  notice  iu  his  office 
for  the  same  period.— [See  §  2325,  Rev.  Stat. 

35.  The  notices  so  published  and  posted  must  be  as  full  and  complete  as  possible, 
and  embrace  aU  the  data  given  in  the  notice  posted  upon  the  claim. 

36.  Too  much  care  cannot  be  exercised  in  the  preparation  of  these  notices,  inas- 
much as  upon  their  accuracy  and  completeness  wiU  depend,  in  a  great  measure,  the 
regularity  and  validity  of  the  whole  proceeding. 

37.  The  claimant,  either  at  the  time  of. filing  these  papers  with  the  register,  or  at 
any  time  during  the  sixty  days'  publication,  is  required  to  file  a  certificate  of  thfi  sur 
veyor-general  that  not  less  than  five  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  labor  has  been  eX' 
pended  or  improvements  made  upon  the  claim  by  the  applicant  or  his  grantors ;  that 
the  plat  filed  by  the  claimant  is  correct ;  that  the  field-notes  of  the  survey,  as  filed,  fur 
nish  such  an  accurate  description  of  the  claim  as  will,  if  incorporated  into  a  patent 
serve  to  fully  identify  the  premises,  and  that  such  reference  is  made  therein  to 
natural  objects  or  permanent  monuments  as  will  perpetuate  and  fix  the  locus  thereof. 
—[See  §  2325,  Rev.  Stat. 

S8.  JA  will  be  the  more  convenient  way  to  have  this  certificate  indorsed  by  the 
surveyor-general,  both  upon  the  plat  and  fleld-notes  of  survey  filed  by  the  claimant  as 
aforesaid. 


mSTETTCTIONS  AND  REGULATIONS  41 

39.  After  the  sixty  days'  period  of  newspaper  publication  has  expired,  the  claim- 
ant will  file  his  affidavit,  showing  that  the  plat  and  notice  aforesaid  remained  conspic- 
uously posted  upon  the  claim  sought  to  be  patented  during  said  sixty  days'  publica- 
tion.—[See  §  2325,  Eev.  Stat. 

40.  Upon  the  filing  of  this  affidavit  the  register  will,  if  no  adverse  claim  was  filed 
in  his  office  during  the  period  of  publication,  permit  the  claimant  to  pay  for  the  land 
according  to  the  area  given  in  the  plat  and  field-notes  of  survey  aforesaid,  at  the  rate 
of  five  dollars  for  each  acre  and  five  dollars  for  each  fractional  part  of  an  acre,  the 
receiver  issuing  the  usual  duplicate  receipt  therefor ;  after  which  the  whole  matter 
will  be  forwarded  to  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land-Office  and  a  patent  issued 
thereon  if  found  regular — [See  §  2325,  Eev.  Stat. 

41.  In  sending  up  the  papers  in  the  case  the  register  must  not  omit  certifying  to 
the  fact  that  the  notice  was  posted  in  his  office  for  the  full  period  of  sixty  days,  such 
certificate  to  state  distinctly  when  such  posting  was  done  and  how  long  continued. 

42.  The  consecutive  series  of  numbers  of  mineral  entries  must  be  continued, 
whether  the  same  are  of  lode  or  placer  claims. 

43.  The  surveyor-general  must  continue  to  designate  all  surveyed  mineral  claims 
as  heretofore  by  a  progressive  series  of  numbers,  beginning  with  lot  No.  37  in  each 
township  ;  the  claim  to  be  so  designated  at  date  of  filing  the  plat,  field-notes,  &c.,  in 
addition  to  the  local  designation  of  the  claim ;  it  being  required  in  all  cases  that  the 
plat  and  field-notes  of  the  survey  of  a  claim  must,  in  addition  to  the  reference  to  ps^r- 
maneut  objects  in  the  neighbordood,  describe  the  locus  of  the  claim  with  reference  to 
the  lines  of  public  surveys  by  a  line  connecting  a  corner  of  the  claim  with  the  nearest 
public  corner  of  the  United  States  surveys,  unless  such  claim  be  on  unsurveyed  lands 
at  a  remote  distance  from  such  public  corner ;  in  which  latter  case  the  reference  by 
course  and  distance  to  permanent  objects  in  the  neighborhood  will  be  a  sufficient 
designation  by  which  to  fix  the  Zooms  until  the  public  surveys  shall  have  been  closed 
upon  its  boundaries. 

ADVEKSE  CLAIMS. 

44.  The  seventh  section  or  the  act  [of  May,  1872,]  provides  for  adverse  claims; 
fixes  the  time  within  which  they  shall  be  filed  to  have  legal  effect,  and  prescribes  the 
manner  of  their  adjustment. — [See  §  2326,  Rev.  Stat. 

45.  Said  section  requires  that  the  adverse  claim  shall  be  filed  during  the  period  of 
publication  of  notice  ;  that  it  must  be  on  the  oath  of  the  adverse  claimant ;  and  that 
it  must  show  the  ^' nature,''^  the  ''boundaries,''-  and  the  "  extenf''  of  the  adverse 
claim — [See  §  232G,  Rev.  Stat. 

46.  In  order  that  this  section  of  law  may  be  jiroperly  carried  into  efiTect,  the  fol- 
lowing is  communicated  for  the  information  of  all  concerned : 

47.  An  adverse  mining  claim  must  be  filed  with  the  register  of  the  same  land- 
office  with  whom  the  application  for  patent  was  filed,  or  in  his  absence  with  the 
receiver,  and  within  the  sixty  days'  period  of  newspaper  publication  of  notice. — [See 
5  232(j,  Rev.  Stai,. 

48.  The  adverse  notice  must  be  duly  sworn  to  before  an  officer  authorized  to 
administer  oaths  within  tlie  laud-district,  or  before  the  register  or  receiver:  it  will 
fully  set  forth  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  interference  or  conflict ;  whether  the 
adverse  party  claims  as  a  purchaser  for  valuable  consideration  or  as  a  locator ;  if  the 
former,  the  original  conveyance,  or  a  duly  certified  copy  thereof,  should  be  furnishcdi 
or  if  the  transaction  was  a  mere  verbal  one  he  will  narrate  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing the  purchase,  the  date  thereof,  and  the  amount  paid,  which  facts  should  be  sup- 
ported by  the  affidavit  of  one  or  more  witnesses,  if  any  were  present  at  the  time,  and 
if  he  claims  as  a  locator  he  must  file  a  duly  certified  copy  of  the  location  from  the 
office  of  the  proper  recorder.— [See  §§  2325,  2326,  2335,  Rev.  Stat. 


42  mSTKUCTIONS  AND  EEGULATIONS. 

49.  In  order  that  the  "  boundaries  "  aud  "  extent  "  of  the  claim  may  be  shown,  i< 
•will  be  incumbent  upon  the  adverse  claimant  to  file  a  plat  showing  his  claim  and  its 
relative  sitcation  or  position  with  tiie  one  against  which  he  claims,  so  that  the  extent 
of  the  conflict  may  be  the  better  understood.  This  plat  must  be  made  from  an  actual 
survey  by  a  United  States  deputy  surveyor,  who  will  officially  certify  thereon  to  its 
correctness ;  and  in  addition  there  must  be  attached  to  such  plat  of  survey  a  certificate 
or  sworn  statement  by  the  surveyor  as  to  the  approximate  value  of  the  labor  per- 
formed or  improvements  made  upon  the  claim  of  the  adverse  party,  and  the  plat 
must  indicate  the  position  of  any  shafts,  tunnels,  or  other  improvements,  if  any  such 
exist  upon  the  claim  of  the  party  opposing  the  application.— [See  §§  2325,  2326,  Eev. 
Stat. 

50.  Upon  the  foregoing  bemg  filed  within  the  sixty  days  as  aforesaid,  the  register, 
or  in  his  absence  the  receiver,  will  give  notice  in  writing  to  both  parties  to  the  contest 
that  such  adverse  claim  has  been  filed,  informing  them  that  the  party  who  filed  the 
adverse  claim  will  be  required  within  thirty  days  from  the  date  of  such  filing  to  com- 
mence proceedings  in  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  to  determine  the  question  of 
right  of  possession,  and  to  prosecute  the  same  with  reasonable  diligence  to  final  judg- 
ment, and  that  should  such  adverse  claimant  fail  to  do  so,  his  adverse  claim  will  be 
considered  waived,  and  the  application  for  patent  be  allowed  to  proceed  upon  its 
merits.— [See  §  2326,  Eev.  Stat. 

51.  When  an  adverse  claim  is  filed  as  aforesaid,  the  register  or  receiver  will 
indorse  upon  the  same  the  precise  date  of  filing,  and  preserve  a  record  of  the  date  ol 
notifications  issued  thereon ;  and  thereafter  all  proceedings  on  the  application  for 
patent  will  be  suspended,  with  the  exception  of  the  completion  of  the  publication  and 
posting  of  notices  and  plat,  and  the  filing  of  the  necessary  proof  thereof,  until  the 
controversy  shall  have  been  adjudicated  in  court,  c  the  adverse  claim  waived  or 
withdrawn.— [See  §  2326,  Rev.  Stat. 

52.  The  proceedings  after  rendition  of  judgment  by  the  court  in  such  case  are  so 
clearly  defined  by  the  act  itself  as  to  render  it  unnecessary  to  enlarge  thereon  in  this 
place. 

PLACER  CliATMS. 

53.  The  tenth  section  of  the  act  under  consideration,  [of  May,  1872,]  provides 
"that  the  act  entitled  'An  act  to  amend  an  act  granting  the  right  of  way  to  ditch  and 
canal  owners  over  the  public  lands,  and  for  other  purposes,'  approved  July  9, 1870, 
shall  be  and  remain  in  full  force,  except  as  to  the  proceedings  to  obtain  a  patent, 
which  shall  be  similar  to  the  proceedings  prescribed  by  sections  six  and  seven  of  this 
act,  [Sees.  2325,  2326  Eev.  Stat.]  for  obtaining  patents  for  vein  or  lode  claims,  but 
\vhere  said  placer-claims  shall  be  upon  surveyed  lands  and  conform  to  legal  subdivis- 
ions, no  further  survey  or  plat  shall  be  required,  and  all  placer-mining  claims  here- 
after located  shall  conform,  as  nearly  as  practicable,  with  the  United  States  system  of 
public-land  surveys  and  the  rectangular  subdivisions  of  such  surveys,  and  no  such 
locations  shall  include  more  than  twenty  acres  for  each  individual  claimant ;  but 
where  placer-claims  cannot  be  conformed  to  legal  subdivisions,  survey  and  plat  shall 
be  made  as  on  unsurveyed  lands,"  &c.— [See  §  2330,  Eev.  Stat. 

54.  The  proceedings  for  obtaining  patents  for  veins  or  lodes  having  already  been 
fully  given,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  repeat  them  here ;  it  being  thought  that  care- 
ful attention  thereto  by  applicants  and  the  local  officers  will  enable  them  to  act 
understandingly  in  the  matter  and  make  such  slight  modifications  in  the  notice,  or 
otherwise,  as  may  be  necessary  in  view  of  the  different  nature  of  the  two  classes  of 
claims,  placer-claims  being  fixed,  however,  at  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  acre,  or 
fractional  part  of  an  acre. — [See  §  2333,  Eev.  Stat. 

55.  The  twelfth  section  of  the  act  of  July  ninth,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy, 
will  be  found  as  a  note  to  Sec.  2330,  p.  17 ;  and  the  thirteenth  section  of  same  act,  as 
note  to  Sec.  2332,  p.  19. 


INSTRUCTIONS  AND  REGULATIONS.  43 

56.  It  will  be  observed  that  that  portion  of  the  first  proviso  to  said  twelfth  sectiou 
which  requires  placer-claims  upon  surveyed  lands  to  conform  to  legal  subdivisions,  is 
repealed  by  the  present  statute  [act  of  May,  1S721  with  regard  to  claims  heretofore 
located,  but  that  where  such  claims  are  located  previous  to  such  survey  and  do  not 
conform  to  legal  subdivisions,  survey,  plat,  and  entry  thereof  may  be  made  according 
to  the  boundaries  fixed  by  local  rules,  but  that  where  such  rules  do  conform  to  legal 
subdivisions,  the  entry  may  be  effected  according  to  such  legal  subdivisions  without 
the  necessity  of  further  survey  or  plat.— [See  §§  2329,  2330,  2331,  2332,  Rev.  Stat. 

57.  In  the  second  proviso  to  said  twelfth  section  authority  is  given  for  the  subdi- 
vision of  forty-acre  legal  subdivisions  into  ten-acre  lots,  which  is  intended  for  the 
greater  convenience  of  miners  in  segregating  their  claims  both  from  one  another  and 
from  intervening  agricultural  land. — [See  §  2330,  Rev.  Stat. 

58.  It  is  held,  therefore,  that  under  a  proper  construction  of  the  law  these  ten-acre 
lots  in  mining-districts  should  be  considered  and  dealt  with,  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, as  legal  subdivisions,  and  that  an  applicant  having  a  legal  claim  which  conforms 
to  one  or  more  of  these  ten-acre  lots,  either  adjoining  or  cornering,  may  make  entry 
thereof,  after  the  usual  proceedings,  without  further  survey  or  plat. — [See  §  2330,  Rev. 
Stat. 

59.  In  cases  of  this  kind,  however,  the  notice  given  of  the  application  must  be 
very  specific  and  accurate  in  description,  and  as  the  forty-acre  tracts  may  be  subdi- 
vided into  ten-acre  lots,  cither  in  the  form  of  squares  of  ten-by-ten  chains,  or  of  par- 
allelograms five-by-twenty  chains,  so  long  as  the  lines  are  parallel  and  at  right  angles 
with  the  lines  of  the  public  surveys,  it  will  be  necessary  that  the  notice  and  application 
state  specifically  what  ten-acre  lots  are  sought  to  be  patented,  in  addition  to  the 
other  data  required  in  the  notice.— [See  §  2331,  Rev.  Stat. 

60.  Where  the  ten-acre  subdivision  is  in  the  form  of  a  square  it  may  be  described, 
for  instance,  as  the  "S.  E.  i  of  the  S.  W.  4  of  N.  W.  4,"  or,  if  in  the  form  of  a  parallel- 
ogram as  aforesaid,  it  may  be  describe d_as  the  W.  ^  of  the  W.  ^  of  the  S.  W.  4  of  the 

N.  W.  4  (or  the  N.  J  of  the  S.  ^  of  the  nT  E.  4  of  the  S.  E.  4)  of  section ,  township 

,  range ,"  as  the  case  may  be ;  but,  in  addition  to  this  description  of  the 

land,  the  notice  must  giye  all  the  other  data  that  is  required  in  a  mineral  application, 
by  which  parties  may  be  put  on  inquiry  as  to  the  premises  sought  to  be  patented. 

61.  The  proceedings  necessary  for  the  adjustment  of  rights  where  a  known  vein 
or  lode  is  embraced  by  a  placer-claim,  are  so  clearly  defined  in  the  eleventh  section 
of  the  act,  [of  May,  1872]  us  to  render  any  particular  instructions  upon  that  point  at 
this  time  unnecessary. — [See  §  2333,  Rev.  Stat. 

62.  When  an  adverse  claim  is  filed  to  a  placer  application,  the  proceedings  are 
the  same  as  in  the  case  of  vein  or  lode  claims,  already  described. 

QtTANTITT   OF   PLACER  GROUND   STJBJECT  TO   LOCATION. 

63.  By  the  twelfth  section  of  the  said  amendatory  act  of  July  0,  1870,  (third  pro- 
viso,) it  is  declared  "that  no  location  of  a  placer-claim  hereafter  made  shall  exceed 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  for  any  one  person  or  association  of  persons,  which 
location  shall  conform  to  the  United  States  surveys,"  &c. — [See  §  2330  and  note.  Rev. 
Stat. 

64.  The  tenth  section  of  the  act  of  May  10,  1872,  provides  that  "  all  placer-mining 
claims  hereafter  located  shall  conform  as  near  as  practicable  with  the  United  States 
system  of  public-land  surveys,  and  the  rectangular  subdivisions  of  such  surveys,  and 
no  such  locations  shall  include  more  than  twenty  acres  for  each  individual  claimant.'" 
[Sec  §  2331  and  note.  Rev.  Stat. 

G5.  The  foregoing  provisions  of  law  are  construed  to  mean  that  after  the  9th  day 
of  July,  1870,  no  location  of  a  placer-claim  can  be  made  to  exceed  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  whatever  may  be  the  number  of  locators  associated  together,  or  whatever 
the  local  regulations  of  the  district  may  allow ;  and  that  from  and  after  the  passage 


44  INSTRUCTIONS  AND  EEGULATIONS. 

of  said  act  of  May  10, 1872,  no  location  made  by  an  individual  can  exceed  twenty  acres, 
and  no  location  made  by  an  association  of  individuals  can  exceed  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  [Sees.  2330,  2331  Eev,  Stat.]  which  location  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  cannot  be  made  by  a  less  number  than  eight  bona  fide  locators,  but  that 
whether  as  much  as  twenty  acres  can  be  located  by  an  individual,  or  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  by  an  association,  depends  entirely  upon  the  mining  regulations  in 
force  in  the  respective  districts  at  the  date  of  location;  it  being  held  that  such  mining 
regulations  are  in  no  way  enlarged  by  said  acts  of  Congress,  but  remain  intact  and  in 
full  force  with  regard  to  the  size  of  locations,  in  so  far  as  they  do  not  permit  locations 
in  excess  of  the  limits  fixed  by  Congress,  but  that  where  such  regulations  permit 
locations  in  excess  of  the  maximums  fixed  by  Congress  as  aforesaid,  they  are  restricted 
accordingly.— [See  §  2331,  Rev.  Stat. 

66.  The  regulations  hereinbefore  given,  [see  14  and  15,]  as  to  xae  manner  of 
marking  locations  on  the  ground,  and  placing  the  same  on  record,  must  be  observed 
in  the  case  of  placer  locations,  so  far  as  the  same  are  applicable  ;  the  law  requiring, 
however,  that  where  placer-claims  are  upon  surveyed  public  lands,  the  locations  must 
hereafter  be  made  to  conform  to  legal  subdivisions  thereof. — [See  §  2331,  Eev.  Stat. 

67.  With  regard  to  the  proofs  necessary  to  establish  the  possessory  right  to  a 
placer-claim,  the  said  thirteenth  section  of  the  act  of  July  9,  1870,  provides  that 
"  where  said  person  or  association,  they  and  their  grantors,  shall  have  held  and 
worked  thek  said  claims  for  a  period  equal  to  the  time  prescribed  by  the  statute  of 
limitations  for  mining  claims  for  the  State  or  territory  where  the  same  may  be  situ- 
ated, evidence  of  such  possession  and  working  of  the  claims  for  such  period  shall  be 
sufficient  to  establish  a  right  to  a  patent  thereto  under  this  act  in  the  absence  of  any 
adverse  claim.'' — [See  §  2332  and  note,  Rev.  Stat. 

68.  This  provision  of  law  will  greatly  lessen  the  burden  of  proof,  more  especially 
in  the  case  of  old  claims  located  many  years  since,  the  records  of  which,  in  many 
cases,  have  been  destroyed  by  fire,  or  lost  i«  other  ways  during  the  lapse  of  time,  but 
concerning  the  possessory  right  to  which  all  controversy  or  Utigation  has  long  been 
settled. 

69.  When  an  applicant  desires  to  makehisproofof  possessory  right  in  accordance 
with  this  provision  of  law,  you  will  not  require  him  to  produce  evidence  of  location, 
copies  of  conveyances,  or  abstracts  of  title,  as  in  other  cases,  but  will  require  him  to 
furnish  a  duly  certified  copy  of  the  statute  of  limitations  of  mining^claims  for  the 
State  or  territory,  together  with  his  sworn  statement  giving  a  clear  and  succinct  nar- 
ration of  the  facts  as  to  the  origin  of  his  title,  and  likewise  as  to  the  continuation  of 
his  possession  of  the  mining  ground  covered  by  his  application ;  the  area  thereof,  the 
nature  and  extent  oi  the  mining  that  has  been  done  thereon;  whether  there  has  been 
any  opposition  to  his  possession  or  litigation  with  regard  to  his  claim  ;  and  if  so,  when 
the  same  ceased ;  whether  such  cessation  was  caused  by  compromise  or  by  judicial 
decree,  and  any  additional  facts  within  the  claimant's  knowledge  having  a  direct 
bearing  upon  his  possession  and  bona  fides  which  he  may  desu-e  to  submit  in  support 
of  his  claim. 

70.  There  should  likewise  be  filed  a  certificate  under  seal  of  the  court  having 
jurisdiction  of  mining  cases  within  the  judicial  district  embracing  the  claim,  that  no 
suit  or  action  of  any  character  whatever,  involving  the  right  of  possession  to  any  por- 
tion of  the  claim  applied  for  is  pending,  and  that  there  has  been  no  litigation  before 
said  court  affecting  the  title  to  said  claim  or  any  part  thereof  for  a  period  equal  to  the 
time  fixed  by  the  statute  of  limitations  for  mining  claims  in  the  State  or  territory  as 
aforesaid,  other  than  that  which  has  been  finally  decided  in  favor  of  the  claimant. 

71.  The  claimant  should  support  his  narrative  of  facts  relative  to  his  possession, 
occupancy,  and  improvements  by  corroborative  testimony  of  any  disinterested  person 
or  persons  of  credibility  who  may  be  cognizant  of  the  facts  in  the  case  and  are 
capable  of  testifying  understandingly  in  the  premises. 


INSTEUCTIONS  AKD  EEGULATIONS.  45 

72.  It  will  be  to  the  advantage  of  claimants  to  make  their  proofs  as  full  and  coi# 
plete  as  practicable. 

APPOINTMENT  OF  DEPtlTY  STJEVEYOES — CHAEGES  FOE  STTEYETS  AND   PXJB- 
lilCATIONS — FEES   OF  EEGISTEKS  AND   EECEPTOES,    &C. 

73.  The  twelfth  section  of  the  said  act  of  May  10, 1872,  provides  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  surveyors  of  mineral  claims,  authorizes  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land- 
OflBce  to  establish  the  rates  to  be  charged  for  surveys  and  for  newspaper  publications, 
prescribes  the  fees  allowed  to  the  local  oflScers  for  receiving  and  acting  upon  applica' 
tions  for  mining  patents  and  for  adverse  claims  thereto,  &c. — [See  §  2334  Rev.  Stat. 

74.  The  surveyors  general  of  the  several  districts,  will,  in  pursuance  of  said  law, 
appoint  in  each  land  district  as  many  competent  deputies  for  the  survey  of  mining 
claims  as  may  seek  such  appointment ;  it  being  distinctly  understood  that  all  expenses 
of  these  notices  and  surveys  are  to  be  borne  by  the  mining  claimants  and  not  by  the 
United  States ;  the  system  of  making  deposits  for  mineral  surveys,  as  required  by  pre- 
vious instructions,  being  hereby  revoked  as  regards  ^eZcZ-iuorfc  ;  the  claimant  having 
the  option  of  employing  any  deputy  surveyor  within  such  district  to  do  his  work  in 
the  field.- [See  §  2334  Rev.  Stat. 

75.  With  regard  to  the  plaiting  of  the  claim  and  other  office-work  in  the  surveyor, 
general's  office,  that  oiScer  will  make  an  estimate  of  the  cost  thereof,  which  amount 
the  claimant  will  deposit  with  any  assistant  United  States  treasurer,  or  designated 
depository,  in  favor  of  the  United  States  Treasurer,  to  be  passed  to  the  credit  of  the 
fund  created  by  "  individual  depositors  for  surveys  of  the  public  lands,"  and  file  with 
the  surveyor  general  duplicate  certificates  of  such  deposit,  in  the  usual  manner. 

76.  The  surveyors  general  will  endeavor  to  appoint  mineral  deputy  surveyors,  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  so  that  one  or  more  may  be  located  in  each  mining  district  for  the 
greater  convenience  of  miners. 

77.  The  usual  oaths  will  be  required  of  these  deputies  and  their  assistants  as  to 
the  correctness  of  each  survey  executed  by  them. 

78.  The  law  requires  that  each  applicant  shall  file  with  the  register  and  receiver 
a  sworn  statement  of  all  charges  and  fees  paid  by  him  for  publication  of  notice  and 
for  survey ;  together  with  all  fees  and  money  paid  the  register  and  receiver,  which 
sworn  statement  is  required  to  be  transmitted  to  this  office,  for  the  information  of  the 
Commissioner. — [See  §  2334,  Rev.  Stat. 

7'J.  Should  it  appear  that  excessive  or  exorbitant  charges  have  been  made  by  any 
surveyor  or  any  publisher,  prompt  action  will  be  taken  with  the  view  of  correcting 
the  abase. 

80.  The  fees  payable  to  the  register  and  receiver,  for  fibng  and  acting  upon  appli- 
cations for  mineral-land  patents,  made  under  said  act  of  May  10, 1872,  arc  five  dollars 
to  each  officer,  to  be  paid  by  the  applicant  for  patent  at  the  time  of  filing,  and  the  like 
sum  of  five  dollars  is  payable  to  each  officer  by  an  adverse  claimant  at  the  time  of 
filing  his  adverse  claim.— [Sec  §  2238,  Rev.  Stat. 

81.  All  fees  or  charges  under  this  act,  or  the  acts  of  which  it  is  amendatory,  may 
be  paid  in  United  States  currency. 

82.  The  register  and  receiver  will,  at  the  close  of  each  month,  forward  to  this 
office  an  abstract  of  mining  applications  filed,  and  a  register  of  receipts,  accompanied 
with  an  abstract  of  mineral  lands  sold. 

83.  The  fees  and  purchase-money  received  by  registers  and  receivers  must  be 
placed  to  the  credit  of  the  United  States  in  the  receiver's  monthly  and  quarterly 
account,  charging  up  in  the  disbursing  account  the  sums  to  which  the  register  and 
receiver  may  be  respectively  entitled  as  fees  and  commissions,  with  limitations  in 
regard  to  the  legal  maximum. 

84'.  The  thirteenth  section  of  the  said  act  of  May  10,  1872,  provides  that  all  affi- 
davits required  under  said  act,  or  the  act  of  which  it  is  amendatory,  may  be  verified 
before  any  officer  authorized  to  administer  oaths  within  the  land  district  where  the 


46  INSTRUCTIONS  AND   REGULATIONS. 


claims  may  be  situated,  in  which  case  they  will  have  the  same  force  and  effect  as  if 
taken  before  the  register  or  receiver,  and  that  in  cases  of  contest  as  to  the  mineral  or 
agricultural  character  of  land,  the  testimony  and  proofs  may  be  taken  before  any 
?uch  ofiBcer  on  personal  notice  of  at  least  ten  clays  to  the  opposing  party,  or  if  said 
party  cannot  be  found,  then,  after  publication  of  notice  for  at  least  once  a  week  for 
thirty  days,  in  a  newspaper,  to  be  designated  by  the  register  as  published  nearest  to 
the  location  of  such  land,  proof  of  which  notice  must  be  made  to  the  register.— [See 
§  2335,  Ee  V.Stat. 

85.  The  instructions  heretofore  issued  with  regard  to  disproving  the  mineral 
character  of  lands  are  accordingly  modified  as  to  allow  proof  upon  fJiat  point  to  be 
taken  before  anxj  ofiBcer  authorized  to  administer  oaths  within  the  land  district,  and 
that  where  the  residence  of  the  parties  who  claim  the  land  to  be  mineral  is  known, 
such  evidence  may  be  taken  without  publication,  ten  days  after  the  mineral  claimants 
or  afiSants  shall  have  been  personally  notified  of  the  time  and  place  of  such  hearing  ; 
but  in  cases  where  such  affiants  or  claimants  cannot  be  served  with  personal  notice, 
or  where  the  land  applied  for  is  returned  as  mineral  upon  the  township  plat,  or  where 
the  same  is  now  or  may  hereafter  be  suspended  for  non-mineral  proof,  by  order  of 
this  ofifice,  then  the  party  who  claims  the  right  to  enter  the  land  as  agricultural  will 
be  required,  at  his  own  expense,  to  publish  a  notice  once  each  week  for  five  consec- 
utive weeks  in  the  newspaper  of  largest  circulation  published  in  the  county  within 
which  said  land  is  situated,  or  if  no  newspaper  is  published  within  such  county,  then 
in  a  newspaper  published  in  an  adjoining  county ;  the  newspaper  in  either  case  to  be 
designated  by  the  register ;  which  notice  must  be  clear  and  specific,  embracing  the 
points  required  in  notices  under  instructions  from  this  ofi5ce  of  March  20,  1872,  and 
must  name  a  day  after  the  last  day  of  publication  of  such  notice,  when  testimony  as 
to  the  character  of  the  land  will  be  taken,  stating  before  what  magistrate  or  other 
officer  such  hearing  will  be  had,  and  the  place  of  such  hearing. — [See  §  2335  Rev. 
Stat. 

MEDIi-SITES. 

86.  The  fifteenth  section  of  said  act  provides,  "  That  where  non-mineral  land  not 
contiguous  to  the  vein  or  lode  is  used  or  occupied  by  the  proprietor  of  such  vein  or 
lode  for  mining  or  milling  purposes,  such  non-adjacent  surface-ground  may  be 
embraced  and  included  in  an  application  for  a  patent  for  such  vein  or  lode,  and  the 
same  may  be  patented  therewith,  subject  to  the  same  preliminary  requirements  as  to 
survey  and  notice  as  are  applicable  under  this  act  to  veins  or  lodes :  Provided,  That 
no  location  hereafter  made  of  such  non-adjacent  land  shall  exceed  five  acres,  and  pay- 
ment for  the  same  must  be  made  at  the  same  rate  as  fixed  by  this  act  for  the  super- 
ficies of  the  lode.  The  owner  ot  a  quartz-mill  or  reduction  works,  not  owning  a 
mine  in  connection  therewith,  may  also  receive  a  patent  for  his  mill-site  as  provided 
in  this  section."— [See  §  2337  Rev.  Stat. 

87.  To  avail  themselves  of  this  provision  of  law,  parties  holding  the  possessory 
right  to  a  vein  or  lode,  and  to  a  piece  of  land  not  contiguous  thereto,  for  mining  or 
milling  purposes,  not  exceeding  the  quantity  allowed  for  such  purpose  by  the  local 
rules,  regulations,  or  customs,  the  proprietors  of  such  vein  or  lode  may  file  in  the 
proper  land-ofiice  their  application  for  a  patent,  under  oath,  in  manner  already  set 
forth  herein,  [Subs.  27-43]  which  application,  together  with  the  plat  and  field-notes, 
may  include,  embrace,  and  describe  in  addition  to  the  vein  or  lode,  such  non-con- 
tiguous mill-site,  and  after  due  proceedings  as  to  notice,  &c.,  a  patent  will  be  issued 
conveying  the  same  as  one  claim [Sec.  2325,  Rev.  Stat. 

88.  In  making  the  survey  in  a  case  of  this  kind,  the  lode-claim  shoud  be  described 
in  the  plat  and  field-notes  as  "  Lot  No.  37,  A,"  and  the  mill-site  as  "  Lot  No.  37,  B," 
or  whatever  may  be  its  appropriate  numerical  designation  ;  the  course  and  distance 
from  a  corner  of  the  mill-site  to  a  corner  of  the  lode-claim  to  be  invariably  given  in 
such  plat  and  field-notes,  and  a  copy  of  the  plat  and  notice  of  application  for  patent 


INSTKUCTIONS  AND  BEGHLATIONS.  47 

» 

must  be  conspicuously  posted  upon  the  mill-site  as  well  as  upon  the  vein  or  lode  for 
the  statutory  period  of  sixty  days.  In  making  the  entry  no  separate  receipt  or  certi- 
ficate need  be  issued  for  the  mill-site,  but  the  whole  area  of  both  lode  and  mill-site 
will  be- embraced  in  one  entry,  the  price  being  five  dollars  for  each  acre  and  fractional 
part  of  an  acre  embraced  by  such  lode  and  mill-site  claim. 

89.  In  case  the  owner  of  a  quartz-mill  or  reduction  works  is  not  the  owner  or 
claimant  of  a  vein  or  lode,  the  law  permits  him  to  make  application  therefor  in  the 
same  manner  prescribed  herein  for  mining-claims,  and  after  due  notice  and  proceed- 
ings, in  the  absence  of  a  valid  adverse  filing,  to  enter  and  receive  a  patent  for  his 
mill-site,  at  said  price  per  acre. — [See  §  2337  Eev.  Stat. 

90.  In  every  case  there  must  be  satisfactory  proof  that  the  land  claimed  as  a 
mill-site  is  not  mineral  in  character,  which  proof  may,  where  the  matter  is  unques- 
tioned, consist  of  the  sworn  statement  of  the  claimant,  supported  by  that  of  one  or 
more  disinterested  persons  capable  from  acquaintance  with  the  land  to  testify  under- 
standingly. 

91.  The  law  expressly  limits  mill-site  locations  made  from  and  after  its  passage  to 
five  acres,  but  whether  so  much  as  that  can  be  located  depends  upon  the  local  cus- 
toms, rules,  or  regulations. — [See  §  2337  Rev.  Stat. 

92.  The  registers  and  receivers  will  preserve  an  unbroken  consecutive  series-o^ 
numbers  for  all  mineral  entries. 

PKOOF  OF   CITIZENSHIP  OF  MINING  CLAIMANTS. 

93.  The  proof  necessary  to  establish  the  citizenship  of  applicants  for  mining  pat- 
ents, whether  under  the  present  or  past  enactments,  it  will  be  seen  by  reference  to 
the  seventh  section  of  the  act  under  consideration  [of  Maj',  1872]  may  consist,  in  the 
case  of  an  individual  claimant,  of  his  own  affidavit  of  the  fact ;  in  the  case  of  an  asso- 
ciation of  persons  not  incorporated,  of  the  affidavit  of  their  authorizod  agent,  made  on 
his  own  knowledge  or  upon  information  and  belief,  that  the  several  members  of  such 
association  arc  citizens ;  and  in  the  case  of  an  incorporated  company,  organized  under 
the  laws  of  the  United  States,  or  the  laws  of  any  State  or  territory  of  the  United 
States,  by  the  filing  of  a  certified  copy  of  their  charter  or  certificate  of  incorporation. 
-[See  §  2321  Rev.  Stat. 

94.  These  affidavits  of  citizenship  may  be  taken  before  the  register  or  receiver, 
or  any  other  officer  authorized  to  administer  oaths  within  the  district. — [See  §  2335 
Rev.  Stat.  WILLIS  DRUMMOND,  Commissioner. 


Expenditures  and  Improvements. 

The  following  instructions  were  issued  by  the  General  Land  Office,  under  dates  of 
June  9,  1874,  and  Mai'ch  11,  1875  :— 

The  requirements  of  the  fifth  section  of  the  mining  act  of  May  10, 1872,  [Sec.  2324, 
Rev.  Stat.J  and  the  amendatory  act  of  March  1, 1873,  arc  changed  by  extending  the 
time  for  the  first  annual  expenditure  upon  claims  located  jirior  to  May  10,  1872,  to 
tho  first  day  of  January,  1875.  The  requirements  in  regard  to  expenthtures  upon 
claims  located  since  May  10, 1872,  are  in  no  way  changed  by  the  above  amendatory 
ict.— [See  §  2324,  and  notes  pp.  11,  12.] 

The  requirements  of  section  2324  Revised  Statutes  [5th  section  of  the  Mining  Act 

of  May  10,  1872]  in  regard  to  tiio  expenditure  upon  minmg-claims,  arc  so  modified 

that  money  which  has  been  or  may  be  expended  in  running  a  tunnel  for  tho  purpose 

Df  developing  one  or  more  lodes  owned  by  such  person  or  company,  shall  be  consid 

3red  as  expended  upon  such  lodes.    The  expenditures  required  upon  mmmg«claim(^ 

may  be  made  from  tJie  surface  or  in  running  a  tunnel  for  the  development  of  such 

claims — [See  amendment,  p.  33.  „    „    ^.TTT^r^^ •    . 

.       ^  S.  S.  BURDETr,  Comimssioner. 


48  INSTErCTIONS  AND  EEGULATIONS. 


Instructions  Eelative  to  Surveys. 

The  following  supplemental  instructions  concerning  surveys  were  issued  by  the 
General  Land  Office,  November  20,  1873 : — 

Under  all  laws  and  regulations,  whether  local  or  general,  the  location  of  a  claim 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  notice  to  all  the  world  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  the 
same  is  not  only  indispensable,  but  in  most  cases,  mining  claims  are  initiated  thereby, 
and  all  subsequent  proceedings  are  based  upon  and  must  conform  to  such  location. 
A  failure  to  make  and  record  the  location  in  accordance  with  the  law  and  regulations 
in  force  at  the  date  of  the  location  will  defeat  the  claim,  and  if  it  is  not  made  with 
such  definiteness  as  to  operate  as  notice  to  all  persons  seeking  to  acquire  rights  to 
mining  lands,  it  will  be  void  for  uncertainty. 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  in  making  surveys  of  mining  claims,  it  becomes  essen- 
tially .necessary  to  ascertain  the  boundaries  thereof  as  estabUshed  by  the  original  loca- 
tion, for  the  rights  of  the  claimant  ai'e  limited  and  defined  by  such  boundaries.  To 
make  a  survey  in  accordance  with  other  lines  or  boundaries,  is  tantamount  to  making 
a  new  location  of  the  claim,  and  the  rights  of  adjoining  locators  who  have  complied 
with  the  requirements  of  the  law  may  be  interfered  with  and  defeated  thereby.  The 
practice  of  making  surveys  according  to  the  dictation  of  parties  in  interest,  instead  ol 
in  accor4ance  with  the  original  location,  has  already  caused  great  confusion  and  been 
productive  of  great  injury  to  bona  fide  claimants. 

You  will,  therefore,  require  the  applicant  for  a  survey  to  furnish  a  copy  of  the 
original  record  of  location,  i^roperly  certified  to  by  the  recorder  having  charge  of  the 
records  of  the  mining  locations  in  the  district  where  the  claim  is  situate,  and  cause 
all  official  surveys  of  mining  claims  to  be  made  in  strict  conformity  to  the  lines 
established  by  the  original  location  as  recorded  ;  and  if  the  records  of  locations  made 
prior  to  the  passage  of  the  mining  act  of  May  10, 1872,  is  not  sufficiently  definite  and 
certain  to  enable  the  deputy  to  make  a  correct  survey  therefrom,  he  should,  after 
reasonable  notice  in  wi'iting  to  be  served  personally,  or  through  the  United  States 
mail,  on  the  applicant  for  survey  and  adjoining  claimants,  whose  residence  or  post 
office  address  he  may  know,  or  can  ascertain  by  the  exercise  of  reasonable  diligence, 
take  the  testimony  of  neighboring  claimants,  and  other  persons  who  are  familiar 
with  the  boundaries  thereof,  as  originally  located  and  asserted  by  the  locators  of  the 
elaim,  and  after  having  ascertained  by  such  testimony  the  boundaries  as  originally 
established,  he  should  make  a  survey  in  accordimce  thei-ewith,  and  transmit  full  and 
correct  returns  of  sui'vey,  accompanied  by  the  copy  of  the  recci'd  of  location,  the  tes- 
timony, and  a  copy  of  the  notice  served  on  the  claimant  and  adjoining  proprietors, 
certifying  thereon,  when,  in  what  manner,  and  on  whom,  service  was  made. 

The  act  of  Congress  of  May  10, 1872,  expressly  provides  that  "the  location  must 
be  distinctly  marked  on  the  ground,  so  that  its  boundaries  can  be  readily  traced," 
and  "that  all  records  of  mining  cHims  hereafter  made  shall  contain  the  name  or 
names  of  the  locators,  the  date  of  the  location,  and  such  a  description  of  the  claim  or 
claims,  located  by  reference  to  some  natural  object  or  permanent  monument,  as  will 
identify  the  claim." 

These  provisions  of  the  law  must  be  strictly  complied  with  in  each  case  to  entitle 
the  claimant  to  a  survey  and  patent,  and  therefore  should  a  claimant  under  a  location 
made  subsequent  to  the  passage  of  the  mining  act  of  May  10, 1872,  who  has  not  com- 
plied with  said  requirements  in  regard  to  marldng  the  location  upon  the  ground  and 
recording  the  same,  apply  lor  a  survey,  you  wUl  decline  to  make  it. 

The  only  relief  for  a  party  imder  such  circumstances  will  be  to  make  a  new  loca- 
tion in  conformity  to  law  and  regulations,  as  no  case  will  be  approved  and  patented 
by  this  office  unless  these  and  all  other  provisions  of  law  are  substantially  complied 
with.  If  the  law  has  been  complied  with  in  the  matter  of  marking  the  location  on 
the  ground  and  recording  the  same,  and  any  auestion  arises  in  the  execution  of  the 


mSTRUCTIONS  AND  EEGULATIONS.  49 

Burvey  as  to  the  identity  of  monuments,  marks,  or  bonnclaries,  which  cannot  be  deter- 
mined by  a  reference  to  the  record,  the  deputy  should  take  testimony  in  the  manner 
hereinbefore  prescribed  for  surveys  of  claims  located  prior  to  May  10, 1872,  and  hav- 
ing thus  ascertained  the  true  and  correct  boundaries  originally  established,  marked, 
and  recorded,  make  the  survey  accordingly. 

You  will  at  once  issue  instructions  to  your  deputies,  requiring  them  to  abandon 
the  i^ractice  of  surveying  mining  claims  under  the  direction  of  parties  in  interest,  and 
to  conform  to  the  rule  as  hereinbefore  prescribed.  From  an  examination  of  the 
returns  of  surveys  of  mining  claims  I  am  satisfied  that  in  many  instances  the  deputy 
surveyors  certify  to  the  value  of  improvements  without  ascertaining  whether  such 
improvements  are  made  by  the  claimant  or  his  grantors,  or  not.  No  improvements 
should  be  included  in  the  estimate  unless  they  have  been  made  by  the  applicant  for 
survey  or  by  those  from  whom  he  derives  title.  The  value  of  improvements  mado 
upon  other  locations,  or  by  other  claimants,  should  not  be  taken  into  consiJeration, 
but  excluded  by  deputies  in  their  estimate  of  improvements  upon  the  claim. 

You  will  so  instruct  your  deputies,  and  hereafter  require  them  to  certify  in  each 
instance  that  the  improvements  and  expenditures  considered  by  them  in  their  esti- 
mate, and  which  they  must  describe  in  their  report,  were  made  by  the  applicant  or  by 
the  persons  from  whom  he  derives  title. 

The  following  certificate  will  bo  attached  to  the  field-notes  of  survey  by  the  Sur- 
veyor-general : 

"  I  certify  that  the  foregoing  transcript  of  tlie  field-notes  of  the  siirvey  of  the 

mining  claim,  situate  in mining  district,  county  of ,  and  of 

has  been  correctly  copied  from  the  original  notes  of  said  survey  on  file  in  this  office ; 
that  said  field-notes  furnish  such  an  accurate  description  of  said  mining  claim  as  will, 
if  incorporated  into  a  patent,  serve  fully  to  identify  the  premises ;  and  that  such 
reference  is  mado  therein  to  natural  objects  and  permanent  monuments  as  will  per- 
petuate and  fix  the  locus  thereof. 

"  I  further  certify  that  the  value  of  the  labor  and  improvements  upon  the  said 
mining  claim,  placed  thereon  by  the  claimant  and  his  grantors,  is  not  less  than  five 
hundred  dollars,  and  that  said  improvements  consist  of— (here  describe  the  improve- 
ments mado  by  the  applicant  and  liis  grantors  upon  the  claim.)  I  further  certify 
that  the  plat  thereof  filed  in  the  U.  S.  Land  Office  at is  correct  and  in  con- 
formity with  the  foregoing  field-notes. 

" ,  U.  S.  Surveyor-General  for ." 

"  U.  S.  Surveyor-General's  Office, ,  187—." 

The  following  certificate  will  be  indorsed  upon  each  jDlat  by  the  Surveyor-General, 
viz: 

' '  The  original  field-notes  of  the  survey  of  the ,  from  which  this  i^lat  has  been 

made,  have  been  examined  and  approved  and  are  on  file  in  this  oflicc,  and  I  hereby 
certify  that  they  furnish  such  description  of  said mining  claim  as  will,  if  incor- 
porated into  a  patent,  serve  fully  to  iJentify  tho  premises;  and  that  such  reference 
is  mado  therein  to  natural  objects  and  permanent  monuments  as  will  perpetuate  and 
fix  the  luciis  thereof. 

"  1  further  certify  that  the  v.ilue  of  tho  labor  and  improvements  upon  the  said 
mining  claim,  placed  thereon  by  the  applicant  and  his  grantors,  is  not  less  than  five 
hundred  dollars,  and  that  said  improvements  consist  of — (here  describe  the  improve- 
ments mado  by  the  applicant  or  his  grantors  upon  the  claim.)     And  I  further  certify 

that  this  is  a  correct  plat  of  said mining  claim  or  premises,  made  in  conformity 

with  said  original  field-notes  of  survey  thereof. 

" ,  U.  S.  Surveyor-General  for ." 

"  U.  S.  Surveyor- General's  Office, , ,  187—." 

WILLIS  DEUMMOND,  Commissioner. 
U.  S.  MIN.  S.  4. 


50  INSTRUCTIONS  AND   EEGULATIONS. 

Contests  between  Mineral  and  Agricultural  Claimants. 

[Issued  by  the  General  Land-Office  March  20, 1872.] 

In  order  to  save  as  much  as  possible  the  expense,  trouble,  and  delay  incident  to 
the  present  manner  of  taking  proofs  as  to  the  mineral  or  agricultural  character  o) 
lands,  it  is  hereby  directed  that  testimony  upon  this  point  may  be  taken  before  a  clerk 
of  a  court  of  record  in  and  for  the  county  in  which  the  land  is  situate,  after  dup 
notice,  in  the  following  manner,  to  wit : 

Hereafter,  when  an  application  is  filed  to  enter  land  as  agricultural  which  13 
alleged,  under  oath,  to  be  mineral  in  character,  or  which  is  returned  upon  the  ofQcial 
township  plat  as  mineral,  or  land  which  is  now  or  may  hereafter  be  suspended  by 
order  of  this  ofBce  for  proof  as  to  the  non-mineral  character  thereof,  you  will,  upon 
Buch  application  being  made,  require  such  applicant  to  publish,  at  his  own  expense^ 
a  notice  thereof  once  each  week,  for  four  consecutive  weeks,  in  a  newspaper  of  larg- 
est circulation  published  nearest  to  the  land  in  question ;  such  notice  to  give  the  name 
and  address  of  the  claimant,  the  designation  of  the  subdivision  embraced  by  his  filing, 
the  names  of  any  miners  or  mining  companies  whose  claims  or  improvements  are 
npon  the  land,  or  in  the  immediate  vicinity  thereof,  the  names  of  the  parties  who 
filed  the  affidavits  that  the  land  is  mineral ;  and,  finally,  the  notice  should  name  a  day, 
which  shall  not  be  less  than  thirty  (30)  days  from  the  date  of  the  first  insertion  of  said 
notice  in  such  newspaper,  upon  which  testimony  will  be  taken  before  the  county 
clerk,  to  determine  the  facts  as  to  the  mineral  or  non-mineral  character  of  the  land, 
when  such  persons  as  may  be  brought  by  the  parties  in  interest  will  be  examined  and 
their  testimony  reduced  to  writing  ;  the  whole  to  be  duly  attested  by  the  seal  of  the 
court,  and  transmitted  to  the  Register  and  the  Receiver,  who  will  thereupon  examine 
and  forward  the  same  to  this  ofBce,  with  their  joint  opinion  as  to  the  character  of  the 
land,  as  shown  by  the  testimony.  A  copy  of  this  notice  must  be  posted  in  a  conspic- 
uous place,  upon  each  forty-acre  subdivision  claimed,  for  four  consecutive  weeks, 
proof  of  which  must  be  made  under  oath  by  at  least  two  persons,  who  will  state 
when  the  notice  was  posted  and  where  posted. 

At  the  hearing,  there  must  be  filed  the  affidavit  of  the  publisher  of  the  paper  that 
the  said  notice  was  published  for  the  required  time,  stating  when  and  for  how  long 
such  publication  was  made,  a  printed  copy  thereof  to  be  attached  and  made  a  part  of 
the  affidavit.  In  every  case  where  practicable,  in  addition  to  the  foregoing,  personal 
notice  must  be  served  on  the  mineral  affiants,  and  upon  any  parties  who  may  be  min- 
ing  upon  or  claiming  the  land. 

At  the  hearing,  the  claimants  and  witnesses  will  be  thoroughly  examined  with 
regard  to  the  character  of  the  land ;  whether  the  same  has  been  thoroughly  pros- 
pected; whether  or  not  there  exists  within  the  tract  or  tracts  claimed  any  lode  or 
vein  of  quartz  or  other  rock  in  place,  bearing  gold,  silver,  cinnabar,  or  copper,  which 
has  ever  been  claimed,  located,  recorded,  or  worked;  whether  such  work  is  entirely 
abandoned,  or  whether  occasionally  resumed ;  if  such  lode  does  exist,  by  whom 
claimed,  under  what  designation,  and  in  which  subdivision  of  the  land  it  lies ;  whether 
any  placer  mine  or  mines  exist  upon  the  land  ;  if  so,  what  is  the  character  thereof — 
whether  of  the  shallow  surface,  description,  or  of  the  deep  cement,  blue  lead,  or 
gravel  deposits;  to  what  extent  mining  is  carried  on  when  water  can  be  obtained, 
and  what  the  facilities  are  for  obtaining  water  for  mining  purposes ;  upon  what  par- 
ticular forty-acre  subdivisions  mining  has  been  done,  and  at  what  time  the  land  was 
abandoned  for  mining  purposes,  if  abandoned  at  all. 

The  testimony  should  also  show  the  agricultural  capacities  of  the  land,  what  kind 
of  crops  are  raised  thereon,  and  the  value  thereof;  the  number  of  acres  actually  cul- 
tivated for  crops  of  cereals  or  vegetables,  and  within  which  particular  forty-acre  sub- 
divisions Buch  crops  are  raised ;    also  which  of  these  subdivisions  embraces  his 


JNSTEUCnONS  AND   REGULATIOISrS.  51 

improvements,  giving  in  detail  the  extent  and  value  of  his  improvements,  such  as 
house,  barn,  vineyard,  orchard,  fencing,  etc. 

It  is  tliought  that  bona  fide  settlers  upon  lands  really  agricultural,  will  be  able  to 
show,  by  a  clear,  logical,  and  succinct  chain  of  evidence,  that  their  claims  are  founded 
upon  law  and  justice  ;  while  parties  who  have  made  little  or  no  permanent  agricul- 
tural improvements,  and  who  only  seek  title  for  speculative  purposes,  on  account  of 
the  mineral  deposits  known  to  themselves  to  be  contained  in  the  the  land,  will  be 
defeated  in  their  intentions. 

The  testimony  should  be  as  full  and  complete  as  possible;  and  in  addition  to  the 
leading  points  indicated  above,  everything  of  importance  bearing  upon  the  question 
of  the  character  of  the  land  should  be  elicited  at  the  hearing.  If,  upon  a  review  o) 
the  testimony  at  this  ofBce,  a  forty-acre  tract  should  be  found  to  be  properly  mineral 
in  character,  that  fact  will  be  no  bar  to  the  execution  of  the  settler's  legal  right  to 
the  remaining  non-mineral  portion  of  his  claim,  if  contiguous.  The  fees  for  taking 
testimony  and  reducing  the  same  to  writing,  in  these  cases,  when  taken  by  a  clerk  o) 
a  court  of  record,  as  aforesaid,  will  have  to  be  defrayed  by  the  parties  in  interest. 

When,  by  reason  of  proximity  to  the  local  land  office,  an  applicant  to  enter  lands 
of  this  class  prefers  to  have  the  testimony  taken  before  the  register  and  the  receiver, 
instead  of  the  clerk  of  a  court  of  record,  as  aforesaid,  he  has  this  option.  In  such 
case  the  mode  of  proceeding  is  fully  set  forth  in  the  circular  of  the  sixth  of  May, 
1871,  which  circular  is  hereby  modified,  as  to  the  manner  of  giving  notice,  so  as  to 
conform  with  these  instructions  relative  to  that  point.  It  must  be  steadily  kept  in 
mind  that  the  testimony  hereby  authorized  to  be  taken  before  the  clerk  of  a  court  is 
not  for  the  purpose  of  determining  questions  of  conflict  between  either  pre-emption 
or  mineral  claimants,  but  simply  to  determine  the  character  of  the  land,  whether 
mineral  or  agricultural. 

When  the  testimony  is  taken  before  the  clerk  of  a  court,  as  aforesaid,  the  Register 
and  the  Receiver  will  be  entitled  to  no  fees  \,  those  paid  by  the  parties  to  the  county 
clerk  being  all  they  are  required  to  pay  -with  reference  to  the  proof  as  to  the  charac- 
ter of  the  land. 

No  fear  need  be  entertained  that  miners  will  be  permitted  to  make  entries  of  tracts 
ostensibly  as  mining  claims,  which  are  not  mineral,  simply  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing possession  and  defrauding  settlers  out  of  their  valuable  agricultural  improve- 
ments ;  it  being  almost  an  impossibility  for  such  a  fraud  to  be  consummated  under  the 
laws  and  regulations  applicable  to  obtaining  patents  for  mining  claims.  The  fact  that 
a  certain  tract  of  land  is  decided  upon  testimony  to  be  mineral  in  character,  is  by  no 
means  equivalent  to  an  award  of  the  land  to  a  miner.  A  miner  is  compelled  by  law 
to  give  three  months  publication  of  notice,  and  three  months  posting  of  diagrams  and 
notices,  as  a  preliminary  step  ;  and  then,  before  he  can  enter  the  land,  he  must  show 
that  the  land  yields  mineral ;  that  he  is  entitled  to  the  possessory  right  thereto  in  vir- 
tue of  compliance  with  local  customs  or  rules  of  miners,  or  by  virtue  of  the  statute  of 
limitations;  that  he  or  his  grantors  have  expended,  in  actual  labor  and  improvements, 
an  amount  of  not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars  thereon,  and  that  the  claim  is  one  in 
regard  to  which  there  is  no  controversy  or  opposing  claim.  After  all  these  proofs 
are  met,  he  is  entitled  to  have  a  survey  made  at  his  own  cost,  where  a  survey  is 
required,  after  which  he  can  enter  and  pay  for  the  land  embraced  by  his  claim. 

It  is  quite  unlikely  that  a  miner  would  undertake  these  long  and  expensive  pro- 
ceedings, simply  for  the  purpose  of  attempting  to  defraud  an  agriculturist  ont  of  a 
tract  of  land  which  was  not  miner?'  but  improved  agricultural  land,  when  there  is  an 
almost  absolute  certainty,  not  only  of  his  scheme  being  frustrated,  but  also  of  his 
being  unable  to  fuxnish  the  proof  always  required  as  a  basis  of  patent  for  a  mineral 
claim. 

WILLIS  DEDMMOND,  Commissioner. 


52  rNSTRtrcnoNS  and  regulations 


What  are  Valuable  Mineral  Deposits 

The  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  having  received  many  letters  of 
inquiry  respecting  lands  containing  valuable  deposits  of  borax,  carbonate  and  nitrate 
of  soda,  sulphur,  alum,  and  asphalt,  issued  the  following  instructions  relating 
thereto,  under  date  of  July  15,  1873  : 

The  first  section  of  the  act  of  Congress,  approved  May  10,  1872,  reads  as  follows  : 
"  That  all  valuable  mineral  deposits  in  lands  belonging  to  the  United  States,  both 
surveyed  and  unsurveyed,  are  hereby  declared  to  be  free  and  open  to  exploration  and 
purchase,  and  the  lands  in  which  they  are  found  to  occupation  and  purchase,"  etc. — 
[See  §2319,  Kev.  Stat. 

The  second  section  declares  "  that  mining-claims  upon  veins  or  lodes  of  quartz,  or 
other  rock  in  place,  bearing  gold,  silver,  cinnabar,  lead,  tin,  copper,  or  other  val- 
uable deposits,  heretofore  located,''  etc.— [See  §  2320,  Rev.  Stat. 

The  sixth  section  refers  to  "  a  patent  for  any  land  claimed  and  located  for  valuable 
deposits."'~[See  §  2325,  Rev.  Stat. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  first  section  of  the  act  the  expression  "valuable 
mineral  deposits"  is  employed,  while  in  the  second  and  sixth  sections  the  language 
is,  "  valuable  deposits."  Allowing,  however,  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  law- 
makers by  this  act  to  dispose  of  "  valuable  mineral  deposits,"  the  question  becomes 
this :  "  What  is  a  valuable  mineral  deposit  ?  "—[See  §5  2319,  2320,  2325,  Rev.  Stat. 

The  meaning  of  the  word  valuable  need  not  be  discussed.  Anything  a  person  is 
willing  to  give  money  for,  or  that  is  useful  or  precious,  or  that  has  merchantable 
qualities,  is  valuable.  The  word  deposit  has  always  been  construed  by  this  office  to 
be  a  general  term,  embracing  veins,  lodes,  ledges,  placers,  and  all  othei  forms  in 
wliich  valuable  metals  have  ever  been  discovered. 

MINERALS. 

In  the  sense  in  which  the  term  mineral  was  used  by  Congress,  it  seems  difficult  to 
find  a  definition  that  will  embrace  what  mineralogists  agree  should  be  included.  The 
several  authorities  consulted  in  this  connection  seem  to  find  it  an  easier  task  to  deter- 
mine what  is  not,  than  what  is,  mineral.  However,  in  all  the  works  on  mineralogy 
that  have  come  under  my  notice,  borax,  nitrate  and  carbonate  of  soda,  sulphur,  alum, 
and  asphalt  are  classified  and  discussed  as  minerals. 

Alger's  edition  of  Phillips'  Mineralogy  speaks  of  "the  crust  of  the  globe  as  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  earths  and  earthy  minerals."  Between  earths  and  minerals  there 
is  a  clear  line  of  demarkation,  and,  thoiigh  difficult  to  express  in  a  few  words,  chem- 
ical composition  and  crystallization  are  the  principal  means  of  tracing  the  distinction. 
"Webster  seems  to  be  the  most  accurate  in  his  definition  of  a  mineral,  for  he  recog- 
nizes chemical  composition  as  the  important  consideration.  He  defines  a  mineral  to 
be  '•  any  inorganic  species  having  a  definite  chemical  composition." 

vaijUable  mineral  deposits. 

From  a  careful  examination  of  this  matter,  the  conclusion  I  reach  as  to  what  con- 
stitutes "  a  valuable  mineral  deposit"  is  this  : 

That  whatever  is  recognized  as  a  mineral  by  the  standard  authorities  on  the  sub- 
ject, where  the  same  is  found  in  quantity  and  quality  to  render  the  land  souglit  to  be 
patented  more  valuable  on  this  account  than  for  purposes  of  agriculture,  should  be 
treated  by  this  office  as  coming  within  the  purview  of  the  mining  act  of  May  10, 
1872, 

The  language  of  the  statute  is  so  comprehensive,  and  capable  of  such  liberal  con* 
struct] on,  that  I  cannot  avoid  the  conclusion  that  Congress  intended  it  as  a  general 
mining  law  "to  promote  the  development  of  the  mining  resources  of  the  United 
States,"  and  to  afford,  a  method  whereby  parties  holding  the  possessory  right  under 


iNSTrtUcnoNS  and  hegtilatioi^b,  53 


local  laws  and  regulations  could  secure  title  to  tracts  containing  valuable  accretions 
or  deposits  of  mineral  substances,  except  where  a  special  law  might  intervene,  reserv- 
ing from  sale,  or  regulating  the  disposal,  of  particularly  specified  mineral-beai-ing 
lands. 

To  the  several  inquiries  in  the  letters  referred  to,  I  therefore  reply  that  lands  val- 
uable on  account  of  borax,  carbonate  of  soda,  nitrate  of  soda,  sulphur,  alum,  and 
asphalt,  as  well  as  "  all  valuable  mineral  deposits,"  may  be  applied  for  and  patented 
under  the  provisions  of  the  mining  act  of  May  10, 1872.  In  case  an  application  should 
bo  presented  to  you  for  a  survey  of  land  valuable  for  other  minerals  than  those  spec- 
ified herein  and  in  the  act  itself,  you  will  first  refer  the  question  to  this  office,  in 
order  that  applicants  may  be  saved  the  expense  of  applying  for  lands  that  may  bo 
reserved  by  a  special  act  of  Congress. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  mineral-producing  lands  are  divided  into  two  classes— 
the  one  class  embraces  lands  where  the  mineral  matter  is  within  "  rock  in  place,"  or 
geologically  speaking,  "  in  sitit ; "  and  the  second  includes  placers  and  all  forms  of 
deposits  excepting  those  in  "rock  in  place."  In  this  connection,  I  deem  it  a  matter 
of  importance  to  give  the  construction  this  office  places  upon  the  expression,  "vein 
or  lode  of  quartz  or  other  rock  in  place,"  to  prevent  mistakes  in  locating  the  two 
classes  of  min£3  referred  to,  thei-eby  saving  to  claimants  considerable  expense  and 
delay. 

VEINS  AND  liODES. 

In  geology  and  among  miners,  veins  or  lodes  imply  generally  an  aggregation  of 
mineral  matter  found  in  the  fissures  of  the  rocks  which  inclose  it,  but  are  of  great 
variety,  veins  dilfering  very  much  in  their  formation  and  appearance.  Lode  is  a 
term  in  general  use  among  the  tin  miners  of  Cornwall,  and  was  introduced  on  the 
Pacific  coast  by  emigi-ants  from  the  Cornish  mines,  and  signifies  a  fissure  filled 
either  by  metallic  or  earthy  matter.  In  several  of  the  mining  districts,  the  terms 
lead  and  ledge  are  employed  in  the  local  regulations  concerning  mines.  Lead  is  used 
to  convey  the  same  idea  as  lode,  whUe  ledge  would  seem  to  indicate  a  layer  or  sti'atum 
of  mineral  interposed  between  a  course  or  ridge  of  rocks. 

Veins  may  be  cither  sedimentary,  plutonic,  or  segi-egated,  or  of  infiltration  or 
attrition,  depending  upon  the  peculiar  formation  or  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  the 
mineral  dejiosit.  There  is  also  another  form  of  deposit  different  from  either  of  those 
mentioned  above,  called  contact  deposit. 

European  miners  mention  still  others,  called  in  England  "floors,"  in  Germany 
"  Stockwerke,"  and  a  form  of  deposit  known  as  "  Fahlband."  These  latter  are,  more 
properly  speaking,  ore-bearing  belts,  irregular  in  their  dimensions,  but  presenting  a 
certain  degree  of  parallelism  with  each  other.  Similar  in  some  respects  to  the  FaLl- 
bands,  are  the  metalliferous  zones,  or  "  amygdaloidal  bands,"  which  are  said  to  exist 
on  Mount  Lincoln  and  Mount  Bross,  Colorado. 

Ilowever,  if  the  question  were  raised,  neither  of  the  forms  of  deposit  knp\\ni  as 
contact  deposit,  Fahlbands,  or  segregated  veins,  could  bo  accepted  as  true  metallif- 
erous veins,  nor  could  it  frequently  be  made  to  appear,  without  expensive  excavation 
whether  the  metal  in  the  .mine  for  which  a  patent  is  sought  occurs  in  the  form  of  a 
true  vein  or  not. 

Bnt  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing  that  the  terms  were  employed  in  their  strict 
geological  signification.  The  plain  object  of  the  law  is  to  dispose  of  the  mineral  lands 
of  tho  United  States  for  money  value,  and  whatever  form  of  deposit  can  bo  embraced 
in  the  general  i^hrase  "  vein  or  lode  of  quartz,  or  other  rock  in  place,"  must  be  sold 
at  the  rate  of  five  dollars  per  acre. 

It  is  evidently  the  policy  of  tho  Government  to  include  as  much  land  as  possible 
under  this  designation,  for  the  reason  that,  as  the  most  valuable  metals  and  minsrals 
occur  in  the  several  vein-formations,  it  is  dcsii'ablc  that  the  lands  wherein  thoy  arc 


54  INSTEUCTIONS  AND   REGULATIONS. 

discovered  should  be  sold  in  limited  quantities,  thereby  preventing  the  few  from 
monopolizing  large  tracts,  which  ought  to  remain  open  to  all  for  exploration  and 
development;  and  for  the  further  reason  that  the  Government  derives  a  larger  rev- 
enue from  the  sale  of  lands  of  this  description. 

In  fine,  I  include  in  the  first  class  all  lands  wherein  the  mineral  matter  is  con- 
tained in  veins  or  ledges,  occupying  the  original  habitat  or  location  of  the  metal  or 
mineral ;  whether  in  true  or  false  veins,  in  zones,  in  pockets,  or  in  the  several  other 
forms  in  which  minerals  are  found  in  the  original  rock,  whether  the  gangue,  or 
matrix,  is  disintegi-ated  at  the  surface  or  not. 

WILLIS  DEUMMOND,  Commissioner. 


Instrnctions  Ooncerning'  Coal  Lands. 

"  Under  the  act  of  Congress  approved  March  3, 1S73,  [Sees.  2347—2352,  Rev.  Stat., 
pp.  25-27  ante],  the  following  circular  of  instructions  was  issued,  dated  April  15^ 
1873: 

1.  The  sale  of  coal-lands  is  provided  for :  1st.  By  ordinary  private  entry  under 
section  one.  2d.  By  granting  a  preference  right  of  purchase  based  on  priority  of 
possession  and  improvement  under  section  two.— [See  §§  2347-2348,  Rev.  Stat. 

2.  The  land  entered  under  either  section  must  be  by  legal  subdivisions,  as  made 
by  the  regular  United  States  survey ;  entry  is  confined  to  surveyed  lands ;  to  such  as 
are  vacant,  not  otherwise  appropriated,  reserved  by  competent  authority,  or  con- 
taining valuable  minerals  other  than  coal. — [See  §  2347,  Rev.  Stat. 

3.  Individuals  and  associations  may  purchase ;  if  an  individual,  he  must  be 
twenty-one  years  of  age  and  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  have  declared  his 
intention  to  become  such  citizen. — [See  §2347,  Rev.  Stat. 

4.  If  an  association  of  persons,  each  must  be  qualified  as  above. 

5.  A  person  is  not  disqualified  by  the  ownership  of  any  quantity  of  other  land, 
nor  by  having  removed  from  his  own  land  in  tlie  same  State  or  Territory. 

6.  Any  individual  may  enter  by  legal  subdivisions  as  aforesaid  any  area  not  ex- 
ceeding one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.— [See  §  2347,  Rev.  Stat. 

7.  Any  association  may  enter  not  to  exceed  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres. 

8.  Any  association  of  not  less  than  four  persons  duly  qualified,  who  shall  have 
expended  not  less  than  $5,000  in  working  and  improving  any  coal  mine  or  mines, 
may  enter  under  section  two  not  exceeding  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  including 
such  mining  improvements.— [See  §  2348,  Rev.  Stat. 

&.  The  price  per  acre  is  $10  where  the  laud  is  situated  mare  than  fifteen  miles 
from  any  completed  railroad ;  and  $20  per  acre  where  the  land  is  within  fifteen  miles 
of  such  road.— [See  §  2347,  Rev.  Stat. 

10.  Where  the  laud  lies  paHly  within  fifteen  miles  of  such  road  and  \nparl  out- 
side such  limit,  the  maximum  price  must  be  paid  for  all  legal  subdivisions  the  greater 
partg  of  which  lie  within  fifteen  miles  of  such  road. 

11.  The  term  "  completed  railroad  "  is  held  to  mean  one  which  is  actually  con- 
structed on  the  face  of  the  earth;  and  lauds  within  fifteen  miles  of  any  point  of  a 
railroad  so  constructed  will  be  held  and  disposed  of  at  $20  per  acre. 

12.  Any  duly  qualified  person  or  association  must  be  preferred  as  purchasers  of 
those  public  lands  on  which  they  have  opened  and  improved,  or  shall  open  and  im- 
prove, any  coal  mine  or  mines ;  and  which  they  shall  have  in  actual  possession. 

13.  Possession  by  agent  is  recognized  as  the  possession  of  the  principal.  The 
clearest  proof  on  the  point  of  agency  must,  however,,  be  required  in  every  case,  and 
a  clearly  defined  possession  most  be  established. 


INSTRUCTIONS  AND  REGULATIONS.  55 

14.  The  opening  and  improving  of  a  coal  mine,  in  order  to  confer  a  preference 
right  of  the  purchase,  must  not  be  considered  as  a  mere  matter  of  form;  the  labor 
expended  and  improvements  made  must  be  such  as  to  clearly  indicate  the  good  faith 
of  the  claimant. 

15.  These  lands  are  intended  to  be  sold  where  there  are  adverse  claimants  there- 
for to  the  party  who  by  substantial  improvements,  actual  possession,  and  a  reasonable 
industry  shows  an  intention  to  continue  his  development  of  the  mines,  in  preference 
to  those  who  would  purchase  for  speculative  purposes  only.  With  this  view,  yon 
will  require  such  proof  of  compliance  with  the  law,  when  lands  are  applied  for  undei 
section  two,  by  adverse  claimants  as  the  circumstances  of  each  case  may  justify. — [See 
§  23-18,  Rev.  Stat. 

16.  In  conflicting  claims,  where  improvement  has  been  made  prior  to  March  3, 
1873,  you  will,  if  each  party  make  subsequent  compliance  with  the  law,  award  the 
land  hy  legal  snhdivisions,  so  as  to  secure  to  each,  as  far  as  possible,  his  valuable 
improvements  ;  there  being  no  provision  in  the  act  allowing  a  joint  entry  by  parties 
claiming  separate  portions  of  the  same  legal  subdivision. — [See  §  2351,  Rev.  Stat. 

17.  In  conflicts,  when  improvements,  etc.,  have  been  commenced  subsequent  to 
March  3, 1873,  or  shall  be  hereafter  commenced,  priority  of  possession  and  improve" 
ment  shall  govern  the  award  when  the  law  has  been  fully  complied  with  by  each 
party.  A  mere  possession,  however,  without  satisfactory  improvements,  will  not 
secure  the  tract  to  the  first  occupant  when  a  subsequent  claimant  shows  his  full  com- 
pliance with  the  law. — [See  §  2351,  Rev.  Stat. 

18.  After  an  entry  has  been  allowed  to  one  party,  you  will  make  no  investigation 
concerning  it  at  the  instance  of  any  person,  except  on  instructions  from  this  office. 
You  will,  however,  receive  all  affidavits  concerning  such  case  and  forward  the  same 
to  this  office,  accompanied  by  a  statement  of  the  facts  as  shown  by  your  records. 

19.  Prior  to  entry,  it  is  competent  for  you  to  order  an  investigation,  on  sufQcient 
grounds  set  forth  under  oath  of  a  party  in  interest,  and  substantiated  by  the  afiSdavita 
of  disinterested  and  credible  witnesses. 

20.  Notice  of  contest  in  every  case  where  the  same  is  practicable  must  be  made 
by  reading  it  to  the  party  to  be  cited  and  by  leaving  a  copy  with  him.  This  notice 
must  proceed  from  your  oifice  and  be  signed  by  the  register  or  receiver.  Where  such 
personal  service  cannot  be  made  by  reason  of  the  absence  of  the  party,  and  because 
his  whereabouts  are  unknown,  a  copy  may  be  left  at  his  residence,  or  if  tliis  is  un- 
known, b^'  posting  a  copy  in  a  conspicuous  place  on  the  tract  iu  controversy,  and  by 
publication  in  a  weekly  newspaper  having  the  lai-gest  general  circulation  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  land,  (where  no  newspaper  sliall  be  specified  by  this  office,)  for  five 
consecutive  insertions,  covering  a  period  of  four  weeks  next  prior  to  the  trial ;  and 
in  each  case  requiring  such  notice,  a  copy  must  be  forwarded  with  the  returns  to  this 
oflSce,  accompanied  with  proof  of  service  by  affidavit  indorsed  thereon. 

21.  In  every  case  of  contest,  all  papers  in  the  same  must  be  forwarded  to  this 
oflQce  for  review  before  an  entry  is  allowed  to  cither  party. 

22.  Thirty  days  from  }our  decision  will  be  allowed  by  you  to  enable  any  party  to 
take  an  appeal,  or  file  argument  to  be  forwarded  to  this  office. 

23.  No  appeal  will  be  entertained  unless  the  same  shall  be  forwarded  through  the 
district  land-office. 

21.  The  party  may  still  further  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  Commissioner  of 
the  General  Land-Office  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  This  appeal  must  be  taken 
within  sixty  days  after  service  of  notice  on  the  party.  This  may  be  filed  wiih  tlic  dis- 
trict land-officers  and  by  them  forwarded,  or  it  may  be  filed  with  the  Commissioner, 
and  must  recite  the  points  of  exception. 

25.  If  not  appealed,  the  decision  is  by  law  made  final.  (See  section  10,  act  June 
12,  1858,  United  States  Statutes,  volume  11,  page  317.)  After  appeal,  tliiriy  ila>s  are 
usually  allowed  for  filing  arguments,  and  the  case  is  then  sent  to  the  secretary,  whose 
decision  is  fiual  and  conclusive. 


56  INSTRUCTIONS  AND  EEGULATIONS. 

26.  Manner  of  obtaining  title  :  First  by  private  entry.  The  party  will  present 
the  following  application  to  the  register,  and  will  make  oath  to  the  same  : 

"I, hereby  apply,  under  the  provisions  of  the  act  approved  March 

3, 1873,  entitled  '  An  act  to  provide  for  the  sale  of  the  lands  of  the  United  States 

containing  coal,  to  purchase  the quarter  of  section ,  in  township , 

of  range ,  in  the  district  of  lands  subject  to  sale  at  the  land-oflBce  at ,  and 

containing acres,  and  I  solemnly  swear  that  no  portion  of  said  tract  is  in  the 

possession  of  any  other  party  ;  that  I  am  twenty-one  years  of  age,  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  (or  have  declared  my  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,)  and  have  never  held  nor  purchased  lands  under  said  act,  either  as  an  indi- 
vidual or  as  a  member  of  an  association  ;  and  I  do  further  swear  that  I  am  well 
acquainted  with  the  character  of  said  described  land,  and  with  each  and  every  legal 
subdivision  thereof,  having  frequently  passed  over  the  same  ;  that  my  knowledge  of 
said  land  is  such  as  to  enable  me  to  testify  understandingly  with  regard  thereto  ;  that 
there  is  not,  to  my  knowledge,  within  the  limits  thereof,  any  vein  or  lode  of  quartz  or 
other  rock  in  place  bearing  gold,  silver,  or  copper  ;  and  that  there  is  not  within  the 
limits  of  said  land,  to  my  knowledge,  any  valuable  mineral  deposit  other  than  coal. 
So  help  me  God.  " ." 

To  this  affidavit,  the  register  will  append  the  usual  jurat, 

27.  Thereupon  the  register,  if  the  tract  is  vacant,  will  so  certifiy  to  the  receiver, 
stating  the  price,  and  the  applicant  must  then  pay  the  amount  of  the  purchase- 
money. 

28.  The  receiver  will  then  issue  to  the  purchaser  a  duplicate  receipt,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  month  the  register  and  receiver  will  make  returns  of  the  sale  to  the  Gen- 
eral Land-Office,  from  whence,  when  the  proceedings  are  found  regular,  a  patent  or 
complete  title  will  be  issued ;  and  on  surrender  of  the  duplicate  receipt  such  patent 
will  be  delivered  at  the  option  of  the  patentee,  either  by  the  Commissioner  at  Wash- 
ington, or  by  the  register  at  the  district  land-office. 

29.  This  disposition  of  private  entry  will  be  subject  to  any  valid  prior  adverse 
right  which  may  have  attached  to  the  same  land,  and  which  is  protected  by  section 
six.— [See  §  2352,  Rev.  Stat. 

30.  Second.  When  the  application  to  purchase  is  based  on  a  priority  of  posses- 
sion, etc.,  as  provided  for  in  section  two,  the  claimant  must,  when  the  township-plat  is 
on  file  in  yoiu-  office,  file  his  declaratory  statement  for  the  tract  claimed  within  sixty 
days  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  his  actual  possession  and  improvement.  Sixty 
days,  exclusive  of  the  first  day  of  possession,  etc.,  must  be  allowed. — [See  §  2348, 
Bev.  Stat. 

31.  The  declaratory  statement  must  be  substantially  as  follows,  to  wit : 

"  I, ,  being years  of  age,  and  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 

(or  having  declared  my  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,)  and  never 
having,  either  as  an  individual  or  as  a  member  of  an  association,  held  or  purchased 
any  coal-lands  under  the  act  approved  March  3,  1&73,  entitled  '  An  act  to  provide  for 
the  sale  of  the  land  of  the  United  States  containing  coal,'  do  hereby  declare  my  in- 
tention to  purchase,  under  the  provisions  of  said  act,  the quarter  of  section 

,  in  township ,  of  range ,  of  lands  subject  to  sale  at  the  district 

land-office  at ,  and  that  I  came  into  possession  of  said  tract  on  the day  of 

A.  D.  18 — ,  and  have  ever  since  remained  in  actual  possession  continuously, 

and  have  expended  in  labor  and  improvements,  on  said  mine  the  sum  of dol- 
lars, the  labor  and  improvements  being  as  follows  :  (here  describe  the  nature  and 
character  of  the  improvements);  and  1  do  furthermore  solemnly  swear  that  1  am  well 
acquainted  with  the  character  of  said  described  land,  and  with  each  and  every  legal 
subdivision  thereof,  having  frequently  passed  over  the  same  ;  that  my  knowledge  of 
said  land  is  such  as  to  enable  me  to  testify  understandingly  with  regard  thereto  ;  that 


INSTRUCTIONS  AND  EEGULATIONS.  57 

there  is  not  to  my  knowledge  witliiu  the  limits  tliereof,  any  vein  or  lode  of  ((iiartz  or 
other  rock  in  place  bearing  gold,  silver,  or  copper  ;  and  that  there  is  not  within  the 
limits  of  said  land,  to  my  knowledge,  any  valuable  mineral  deposit  other  than  coal. 


32.  When  the  township-plat  is  not  on  file  at  date  of  claimant's  first  possession,  the 
declaratory  statement  must  be  filed  within  sixty  days  from  the  fi^ling  of  such  plat  in 
your  office. 

3.5.  When  improvements  shall  have  been  made  prior  to  June  4, 1873,  the  dpclara- 
tory  statement  must  be  filed  within  sixty  days  from  that  date. 

34.  No  sale  under  this  act  will  be  allowed  by  you  prior  to  September  4, 1873. 
One  year  from  and  after  the  expiration  of  the  period  allowed  for  filing  the  declara- 
tory statement  is  given,  within  which  to  make  proof  and  payment,  but  you  will  allow 
no  party  to  make  final  proof  and  payment  except  on  notice  as  aforesaid  to  all  others 
who  ajipear  on  your  records  as  claimants  to  the  same  tracts. 

35.  A  party  who  otherwise  complies  with  the  law  may  enter  after  the  expiration 
of  said  year,  provided  no  valid  adverse  right  shall  have  intervened.  He  postpones 
his  entry  beyond  said  year  at  his  own  risk,  and  the  Government  cannot  thereafter 
protect  him  against  another  who  complies  with  the  law,  and  the  value  of  his  improve- 
ments can  have  no  weight  in  his  favor. 

36.  One  person  can  have  the  benefit  of  one  entry  or  filing  only.  He  is  disquali- 
fied by  having  made  sush  entry  or  filing  alone,  or  as  a  member  of  an  association.  No 
entry  can  be  allowed  an  associatian  which  has  in  it  a  single  person  thus  disqualified, 
as  the  law  prohibits  the  entry  or  holding  of  more  than  one  claim,  either  by  an  indi- 
vidual or  an  association.  You  are  to  allow  no  entry  under  this  act  of  lands  contain- 
ing other  valuable  minerals.  You  will  determine  the  character  of  the  land  under  the 
present  rules  relative  to  agricultural  and  mineral  lands.  Those  that  are  sufficiently 
valuable  for  other  minerals  to  prevent  their  entry  as  agricultural  lauds  cannot  be 
entered  under  this  act. — [See  pp.  35-50  ante. 

■  37.  Assignments  of  the  riglit  to  purchase  under  this  act  will  be  recognized  when 
properly  executed.  Proof  and  payment  must  be  made,  however,  within  the  pre- 
scribed period,  which  dates  from  the  first  day  of  the  possession  of  the  assignor  who 
initiated  the  claim. 

33.  You  will  so  construe  this  act  in  its  application  as  not  to  destroy  or  impair  any 
rights  which  may  have  attached  prior  to  Slarch  3,  1873.  Those  persons  who  may 
have  initiated  a  valid  claim  under  any  prior  law  relative  to  coal-lands  will  be  per- 
mitted to  complete  their  entries  under  the  same. 

3D.  You  will  report  at  the  close  of  each  month  as  "  sales  of  coal-lands  "  all  filings 
and  entries  under  this  act  in  separate  abstracts  commencing  with  number  one,  and 
thereafter  proceeding  consecutively  in  the  order  of  their  reception.  Where  a  series 
of  numbers  has  already  been  commenced  by  sale  of  coal-lands,  you  will  continue  the 
same  without  change.  The  affidavit  required  from  each  claimant,  under  section  two, 
at  the  time  of  actual  purchase  will  be  as  follows,  to  wit : 

"  I, ,  claiming  the  right  of  purchase  under  the  act  of  Congress  enti- 
tled '  An  act  to  provide  for  the  sale  of  the  lands  of  the  United  States  containing  coal,' 

approved  March  3, 1873,  to  the quarter  of  section ,  in  t  ownship ,  of 

range ,  subject  to  sale  at ,  do  solennily  swear  that  1  have  never  had  the 

right  of  purchase  under  this  act,  either  as  an  individual  or  a  member  of  an  associa- 
tion, and  that  I  have  never  held  any  other  lands  under  its  provisions  ;  I  further  swear 
that  I  have  expended  in  developing  coal-mines  on  said  tract  in  labor  and  improve- 
ments the  sum  of dollars,  the  nature  of  such  im[)rovenients  being  as  follows  : 

;  that  I  am  now  in  the  actual  possession  of  said  mines,  and  make 

the  entry  for  my  own  use  and  benefit,  and  not  directly  or  indirectly  for  the  use  and 
benefit  of  any  other  party ;  and  I  do  furthermore  swear  that  I  am  well  acquainted 


58  mSTBUUTIONS  AND  EEGULATIONS. 

with  the  character  of  said  described  land,  and  with  each  and  every  legal  subdivision 
thereof,  having  frequently  passed  over  the  same ;  that  my  knowledge  of  said  land  is 
such  as  to  enable  me  to  testify  understandingly  with  regard  thereto  ;  that  there  is  not, 
to  my  knowledge,  within  the  limits  thereof,  any  vein  or  lode  of  quarts  or  other  rock 
in  place  bearing  gold,  silver,  or  copper;  and  that  there  is  not  within  the  limits  of 
said  land,  to  my  knowledge,  any  valuable  mineral  deposit  other  than  coal.    So  help 

me  God.  " . 

"  I, ,  of  the  land-ofiBce  at ,  do  hereby  certify  that  the  above  afiB- 

davit  was  sworn  and  subscribed  to  before  me  this  - — —  day  of- ,  A.  D.  18 — . 


40.  In  case  the  purchaser  shows  by  an  affidavit  that  he  is  not  personally  ac- 
quainted with  the  character  of  the  land,  his  duly  authorized  agent  who  possesses  such 
knowledge  may  make  the  required  affidavit  as  to  its  character  ;  but  whether  this  affi- 
davit is  made  by  principal  or  agent,  it  must  be  corroborated  by  the  affidavits  of  two 
disinterested  and  credible  witnesses  having  knowledge  of  its  character. 

WILLIS  DRUMMOND,  Commissioner. 


TABLE  OF  EEFEEENOE 

Of  the  Subdivisions  of  the  Instructions  applicable  to  the  respective  Sections  of  the 
Revised  Statutes. 

■Sec  Page.    Rev.  Statutes.                         Instructions.    Subdivisions,  Pages. 

Sec.  2319,  8 1,9,  35,36,52 

2320,  8 •. 4,9-18,  35-38 

2321,  9 93,  47 

2322,  9 2,3,7,10,  35,36 

2823,  10 19-26,  38,39 

2324,  11 5,6,12-17,  36-38,47 

2325,  12 27-40,48,49,87,   39-41,  50,51 

2326,  14 44-52,  41,42 

2327,  15 48,49 

2328,  16 8,  36 

2329,  16 56,63-71,  43,44 

2330,  16 53,56,58,63-71,  43,44 

2331,  17 53-71,  42-44 

2332,  18 56,67,  43,44 

2333,  19 54,61,  42,43 

2334,  20 73-83,  45 

2335,  21 48,83-85,  45,46 

2337,  22 86,91,  46,47 

2238,  28 80,  45 

2347,  25 1-9,  54 

2348,  26 1-15,30,  54-56 

2349,  26 1-19,  54,55 

2350,  26 1-19,  54,55 

2351,  27 20-25,  55 

2352,  27 29,  5G 


DIGEST    OF  DECISIONS.  59 


DIGEST  or  DECISIONS 


UNDER  THE 


MINING  STATUTES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


KENDEEED  BY  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 


ABANDONMENT. 
See  ExPENDiTtJREs ;  Re-location  ;  Tcnsels,  7. 

ADVERSE  CLAIM. 

1.  Who  may  file. — Any  member  of  a  mining  company  may  file  an  adverse  claim 
ou  behalf  of  his  company,  where  he  has  the  proper  authority. — [Jan.  28, 18G9. 

2.  What  should  accompany.— An  adverse  claimant  should  file,  with  the  other 
papers  constituting  his  adverse  claim,  either  an  abstract  of  title,  with  copy  of  the 
original  notice  of  location,  or  certified  copies  of  the  notice  of  location,  and  the  deeds 
of  conveyance  tracing  his  right  of  possession  from  the  original  locators  of  the 
adverse  claim.— [Oct.  31, 1873. 

3.  A  protest  or  adverse  claim  must  be  accompanied  by  a  survey,  made  and  certi- 
fied by  a  United  States  Deputy  Mineral  Surveyor,  togetber  with  a  certificate,  or  sworn 
statement,  by  the  surveyor  "as  to  the  a2:iproximate  value  of  the  labor  performed  or 
improvements  made  upon  the  claim  of  the  adverse  party." — [July  17, 1S73. 

4.  Hypothetical  controversies.— A  construction  of  the  mining  laws  which  would 
suspend  the  disposal  of  tlie  mineral  lands,  and  prevent  the  Government  from  obtain- 
ing its  price  therefor  until  hypothetical  controvei'sies  can  be  finally  adjusted  in  the 
courts,  cannot  prevail — [Chollar  Potosi  Mining  Co.  -us.  Julia  Mining  Co.  Decision 
of  Commissioner  Dkummond,  May  27, 1872. 

5.  Separate  claims  to  be  filed  to  each  conflicting  application. — Adverse  claim- 
ants must  lilo  a  separate  and  distinct  claim  against  each  application,  which  it  is 
alleged  conflicts  with  the  ]iremises  owned  by  such  adverse  claimant. — [June  9,  1873. 

6.  What  adverse  claimant  must  show.— An  adverse  claimant  should  show  a 
compliance  with  the  local  laws  in  recording  his  claim,  and  in  regard  to  expenditures, 
and  should  file  a  copy  of  the  original  notice  of  his  location,  and  show  the  nature  or 
extent  of  the  confiict  alleged. — [May  6, 1873. 

7.  Where  an  adverse  claimant  has  not  fully  complied  with  the  law  and  the  in- 
structions thereunder,  he  fails  to  make  out  a  case  which  will  authorize  a  suspension 
of  proceedings. — [May  1, 1873. 

Tho  digest  is  compiled  from  the  decisions  of  tho  Comraispioner  of  the  General  Land- 
Oflico.  tho  decisions,  on  aijpoal,  of  tlio  .Secretary  of  tho  Interior,  tho  Opinions  of  tho 
Attorneys-Gencr.al,  and  tho  Land-Oliico  Iteports.  'Iho  dates  of  tho  decisions  aro  given 
in  all  cases,  and  if  taken  from  tho  decision  of  the  Secretary  of  tho  Interior  or  the  Opin- 
ion of  tho  Attorney-General,  it  is  so  stated. 


Cid  DIGEST   OF  DECISIONS. 


8.  An  advi-rse  claimant  should  state  the  nature  of  his  claim,  where  and  how  it 
originated,  .whether  by  purchase  or  location,  and  other  matei'ial  or  essential  joarticu- 
lars,  and  must  show  an  interest  in  the  ground  sought  to  be  patented,  or  an  authority 
for  appearing  on  behalf  of  those  iuterested. — [Dec.  29, 1871,  March  i,  1872,  and  March 
19, 1872. 

9.  Abstract  of  title. — Where  an  abstract  of  title  is  filed  by  an  adverse  claimant 
it  should  be  properly  attested  by  the  seal  of  the  Eecorder. — [Oct.  31,  1873. 

10.  An  omission  to  file  an  abstract  of  title  should  be  treated  as  an  irregularity 
only,  and  not  as  a  defect  that  vitiates  an  adverse  claim. — [Opinion  of  Asst.  Atty- 
Gen.  Smith,  Sept.  30,  1873. 

11.  Amendment.— When  an  adverse  claim  has  been  filed  it  cannot  be  amended 
BO  as  to  embrace  a  larger  portion  of  the  premises  than  that  described  in  the  original 
adverse  claims. — [Jan.  14,  1873. 

12.  Dismissal.— Where  an  adverse  claimant  dismissed  his  suit,  and  brought  a  sec- 
ond suit,  after  the  expiration  of  the  thirty  days  allowed  him  for  bringing  the  first 
suit;  held,  that  such  action  cannot  be  considered  and  will  not  retard  the  progress  of 
patent  to  the  applicant. — [Decision  of  Secretary  Delano,  July  8,  1872, 

13.  Where  an  adverse  claimant  was  allowed  thirty  days  within  which  to  bring 
suit  against  an  applicant,  and  failed  to  do  so,  his  claim  was  dismissed  and  patent 
directed  to  issue. — [Aug.  18,  1873. 

14.  A  second  application  for  a  patent,  made  by  an  adverse  claimant,  which  con- 
flicted with  a  prior  application,  cannot  be  entertained  where  an  interval  of  more  than 
ninety  days  (required  by  tlie  act  of  July  26,  1S6G)  had  elapsed  since  filing  of  the  first 
application,  and  the  second  applicant  had 'not  filed  an  adverse  claim  within  that 
time.— [Oct.  27,  1873. 

15.  Time  for  filing. — An  adverse  claim  filed  after  the  expiration  of  the  time  pre- 
scribed by  statute  cannot  be  considered,  and  no  extension  of  time  can  be  given  for 
fihng  adverse  claims.— [Jan.  14, 1873,  and  April  18,  1873. 

16.  Pleadings. — Where  an  adverse  claimant  made  no  claim  to  the  ledge  sought 
to  be  patented,  and  averred  that  his  claim  was  on  a  separate  and  distinct  lode  from 
the  one  sought  to  be  patented ;  held,  that  this  did  not  constitute  au  adverse  claim 
either  to  the  lode  or  surface  ground.— [April  1, 1872. 

17.  An  adverse  claimant  should  set  forth  in  detail  the  facts  upon  which  he  bases 
his  adverse  claim.  A  statement  in  general  terms  embodying  conclusions  of  law 
without  stating  the  facts  specifically,  will  not  be  considered  as  evidence. — [May  6, 
1873. 

18.  Where  an  adverse  claimant  alleged  in  his  sworn  statement  "that  sufficient 
work  and  all  acts  and  things  were  done  according  to  the  acts  of  Congress,  the  min- 
ing laws  of  the  district,  and  customs  of  miners  to  hold  and  possess  the  same." 
Held,  that  the  statement  was  defective  as  the  facts  should  have  been  stated  specifically 
and  in  detail. — [Ibid. 

19.  An  instrument  setting  forth  an  adverse  claim  should  be  so  drafted  as  to  in- 
form the  applicant  that  a  portion  of  the  mining  claim  which  he  was  seeking  to  obtain 
a  patent  for  did  not  belong  to  hfm,  but  did  belong  to  the  protestant  (or  adverse 
claimant)  and  it  is  intended  that  this  should  be  done  with  such  precisiorf  as  to  fairly 
advise  him  of  the  "nature,  boiindaries  and  extent"  of  the  adverse  claim,  so  that  the 
applicant  might  prepare  himself  to  establish  on  the  trial  before  the  courts,  his  own, 
and  defeat  the  adverse  claim.— [Opinion  of  Asst.  Atty-Gen.  Smith,  Sept.  30, 1873. 


DIGEST  OP  DECISIONS.  61 

20.  Adverse  claimants  are  not  required  to  show  afiSmatively  that  they  have  com- 
plied with  all  the  local  usages  and  customs ;  if  they  have  failed  to  comply  with  such 
usages  and  a  forfeiture  is  denounced  for  sucli  iailure,  it  is  a  matter  of  defense. — [lb. 

21.  If  an  adverse  claimant  jwoperly  alleges  that  he  is  the  owner  of  the.  claim,  it 
is  good  pleading,  and  sufficient  to  notify  the  applicant  for  patent  of  what  is  claimed. 
-[Ibid. 

22.  An  allegation  of  parties  to  a  suit  tliat  they  compose  the  company  is  suffi- 
cient, and  they  are  not  i-equircd  to  prove  that  they  are  the  original  locators,  or  tho 
identical  parties  who  presented  the  adverse  claim. — [Ibid. 

23.  The  regi;latious  issued  hy  the  Commissioner  requiring  the  filing  of  plat  and 
field  notes  and  an  abstract  of  title,  do  not  have  the  force  of  law  and  were  never 
intended  to  avt  as  a  bar  where  an  applicant  in  good  faith  has  done  all  that  was  in  his 
power  to  comply  with  them. — [Ibid. 

24.  Suspension  of  proceedings.— A  case  having  once  been  suspended  and  carried 
to  the  courts  for  adjudication,  and  having  been  there  dismissed  for  want  of  attention 
and  prosecution  on  the  part  of  an  adverse  claimant,  cannot  be  stayed  a  second  time 
for  such  purpose,  but  must  proceed  on  the  application  for  patent.— [Nov.  17, 186D. 

25.  An  adverse  claimant,  asking  for  a  suspension  of  proceedings  in  the  General 
Land-Office,  on  the  ground  that  a  motion  for  a  new  trial  had  bceu  granted  in  a  court 
of  justice,  must  show  that  such  motion  had  been  granted  without  conditions.- [Xov. 
18,  1872. 

26.  The  General  Land-Office  will  neither  supervise  or  disregard  the  decisions  of 
the  courts  in  cases  of  conflicting  claims  to  the  possession  of  mining  property  which 
may  have  been  submitted  to  them. — [Jan.  26,  1869. 

27.  Survey. — Where  adverse  claimants  made  use  of  reasonable  means  to  procure 
field-notes  and  survey,  and  were  prevented  from  doing  so  by  the  act  of  an  applicant 
for  patent ;  held,  that  to  allow  the  applicant  to  exclude  the  adverse  claim  for  that  rea- 
son would  be  to  i)ermit  him  to  take  advantage  of  his  own  wrongful  act. — [Opinion  of 
Asst.  Atfy-Gen.  Smith,  Sept.  30,  Ls73. 

23.  When  will  not  be  entertained.— An  opposition  by  lieuholders  to  issue  of 
patent  will  not.  be  entertained,  as  the  lienholders  are  fully  protected  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  thirteenth  section  of  the  act  of  July  9,  1870.— [June  19,  lb71. 

2'.'.  Verification. — The  jurat  to  the  adverse  claim  required  by  the  act  of  May  10, 
1872,  must  be  made  by  the  party  and  cannot  be  made  by  an  attorney. — [Decision  of 
C.  Delano,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Nov.  24,  1873. 

30.  Where  several  parties  unite  in  an  adverse  claim,  the  jurat  is  sufficient  if  made 
by  one  of  the  parlies.— [Decision  of  C  Delano,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Nov.  2-1, 
1873. 

31.  An  adverse  claim  should  be  verified  before  some  officer  authorized  to  admin- 
ister oaths  "  within  the  land  district  v/here  the  claim  may  be  situated."'— [Land  Office 
Decisions  of  Feb.  3  and  March  7,  1873,  and  Decision  of  Acting  Secretary  Coaven,  Oct. 
28, 1873. 

32.  Waiver,— Where  an  adverse  claimant  failed  to  commence  suit  within  the 
time  i)rescribed  by  the  General  Land-Office,  kis  adverse  claim  was  considered  waived 
and  the  appiicant  was  allowed  to  proceed  with  liis  application  for  patent. — [Seiit.  26, 
1872. 

33.  Withdrawal  by  co-tenant.— Wiiere  one  of  several  co-tenants  made  out  a 
prima  favce  adverse  showing  to  an  application  for  patent,  and  his  co-ten.iiits  s-ubse- 
quently  withdrew  this  adverse  claim,  held,  that  their  withdrawal  did  not  prejudice 
the  rights  of  the  adverse  claimant. — [Feb.  12,  1873. 


62  DIGEST   OF  DECISIONS. 


34.  What  will  not  be  considered.— Easements  are  protected  liy  tlie  fifth  section 
of  the  act  of  July  2G,  IS'GG,  and  an  objection  to  issue  of  patent  founded  upon  an  ease- 
ment Trill  not  be  considered  an  "  adverse  claim  "  where  the  contestant  makes  no 
claim  to  the  mining  ground. — [April  16,  1S71. 

35.  In  establishing  a  system  for  the  sale  of  mineral  lands,  Congress  intended  to 
allow  the  first  patentee  to  follow  his  vein,  though  it  may  lead  him  under  "adjoining 
lands;"  and  it  was  intended  that  such  "adjoining  land"  should  be  sold  subject  to 
this  right,  and  this  right  does  not  create  a  "  controversy  "  or  "opposing  claim,"  nor 
an  "  adverse  claim  "  to  the  possession  of  him  who  enters  the  adjoming  land  for  mining 
purposes. — [Chollar-Potosi  Mining  Co.  vs.  Julia  Mining  Co.,  Decision  of  Secretary 
Delano,  Feb.  2i,  1873. 

36.  The  mere  fact  of  bringing  the  suit  by  the  adverse  claimant  and  obtaining 
a  judgment  in  his  favor  does  not  necessarily  give  him  a  right  to  a  patent  by  filing  a 
certified  copy  of  the  judgment-roll  and  the  certificate  of  the  surveyor-general,  and 
paying  for  the  land  and  paying  the  fees. — [Decision  of  Secretary  Delano,  April  1, 

1875. 

37.  Suit  or  action  should  be  commenced  hy  the  adverse  claimant  in  order  to 
entitle  him  to  a  stay  of  proceedings.  The  act  of  1872  expressly  requires  it  to  be  done 
within  thirty  days  from  the  filing  of  the  adverse  claim,  and  the  act  of  1866,  upon  a 
fair  construction,  requires  it  within  a  reasonable  time. — [Decision  of  Secretary 
Delano,  March  22, 1875. 

See  Agricultubal  Lands,  4 — 7,13;  Jurisdiction;  Location,  15;  Survey. 

AFFIDAVIT. 

1.  An  affidavit  made  by  a  president  of  a  mining  company  in  his  official  capacity, 
■will  be  sufficient,  without  producing  a  certified  copy  of  the  record  of  his  election. — 
[Opinion  of  Asst.  Atty.  Gen.  Smith,  Sept.  30,  1873. 

2.  An  affidavit  made  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  will  be  accepted  without  proof 
of  his  official  character.— [i6icZ.,  Sept.  30, 1873. 

3.  A  Notary  Public  may  administer  oaths  in  any  State  or  Territory,  and  a  certifi- 
cate under  his  official  seal  is  sufficient  evidence  of  his  being  a  Notary — [Ibid.,  Sept. 
30, 1873. 

4.  Where  affidavits  are  taken  without  notice  to  the  opposing  party,  and  with  no 
opportunity  for  cross-examination,  they  will  not  be  considered  in  rendering  a  decision 
in  the  premises. — [March  14,  1873. 

5.  Under  the  mining  act  of  May  10,  1872,  an  affidavit  must  be  verified  before  an 
officer  authorized  to  administer  oaths  in  the  land-district  where  the  claim  is  situated. 
— [Decision  of  Sec'y.  Delano,  April  30, 1874. 

6.  An  incorporated  mining  company  may  verify  an  application  or  an  adverse 
claim  through  its  officers  or  agents. — [Oct.  26,  1874. 

7.  Proof  of  citizenship  may  be  verified  before  any  officer  authorized  to  administer 
oaths.— [Feb.  3, 1873. 

See  Adverse  Claims,  20,  30,  31 ;  Agricultural  Lands,  12. 

AGRICULTUKAL  LANDS. 

1.  Land  adjudged  to  be  agricultural  cannot  be  entered  under  the  mining  lawa 
unless  discoveries  or  developments  tending  to  show  that  the  tract  is  more  valuable 
for  milling  tlian  agricultural  purposes,  have  been  m3ide  since  the  determination  of  the 
character  of  such  land.— [Dec.  2, 1872. 


DIGEST   OF  DECISIONS.  63 

2.  Where  an  agi-icultural  entry  was  allowed  after  due  publication  of  notice,  post- 
ing, and  personal  service,  and  no  opposition  was  made,  the  case  will  not  be  re-opened 
unless  the  mineral  af&ants  show  they  have  the  possessory  right  to  an  actual  mining 
claim  upon  the  land  so  entered,  or  that  fraud  was  resorted  to  by  the  agricultural 
claimants  in  giving  the  required  notices,  and  in  what  specific  forty-acre  subdivisions 
their  mining  location  exists. — [June  20,  1*^72. 

3.  Whei'e  land  had  been  adjudged  agricultural  upon  testimony  submitted  at  a 
hearing  held  after  due  notice,  an  application  to  re-open  the  case  on  a  mineral  affidavit 
was  refused. 

4.  Contests  by  Mineral  Claimants.  -In  a  controversy  between  agi-icultural  and 
mineral  claimants,  where  it  was  established  that  though  a  small  portion  of  the  land 
once  contained  gold  in  paying  cuantities,  and  that  portion  had  long  since  been 
exhausted  and  abandoned,  and  that  no  part  of  the  tract  contained  minerals  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  pay  for  working,  and  nearly  all  of  the  land  was  valuable  for  agriculture, 
the  agricultural  entry  prevailed.— [Decision  of  Acting  Secretary  Cowen,  May  6, 1872. 

5.  Where  there  is  a  contest  as  to  the  mineral  or  agricultural  character  of  land, 
the  hearing  should  be  had  in  the  county  where  said  land  is  situate,  before  some  officer 
authorized  to  administer  oaths.— [Dec.  2,  1872. 

G.  In  any  case  where  there  is  a  contest,  or  where  the  non-mineral  character  of  the 
laud  is  not  entirely  clear  and  satisfactory,  the  local  land  office  will  not  permit  an 
entry  until  the  testimony  has  been  reviewed  in  the  General  Land  Office.— [May  10, 
1872. 

7.  In  cases  of  contest  between  mineral  and  agricultural  claimants,  where  proper 
notice  was  given  by  agricultural  claimants,  by  publication  and  personal  notice,  the 
General  Land  Office  will  not  re-open  the  case  unless  the  mineral  affiants  show  fi-aud 
in  pre-emption  or  that  they  had  an  actual  mining  claim  thereon  under  local  mining 
regulations. — [Sept.  19,  1872. 

8.  Valuable  mineral  deposits  on. — Where  lands  containing  valuable  mineral 
deposits  have  been  included  in  a  homestead  or  an  agricultural  entry,  said  entry  will 
be  cancelled  at  any  time  prior  to  issuance  of  patent,  upon  satisfactory  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  such  valuable  deposits. — [Nov.  11, 187.3. 

9.  AMiere  mineral  deposits  are  discovered  on  agricultural  lands  after  patent  has 
issued  to  a  party  claiming  under  the  laws  regulating  the  disposal  of  agricultural 
lands,  they  pass  with  the  patent. — [July  10,  1873,  and  Nov.  11, 1873. 

10.  Where  valuable  deposits  of  minerals  are  discovered  upon  a  legal  subdivision 
of  the  public  lands  after  the  same  has  been  entered  as  agricultural,  but  before  patent 
has  issued,  the  parties  owning  the  possessory  right  to  the  mine  may  make  application 
for  patent  for  the  same,  and  the  agi-icultural  entry  will  be  cancelled  to  that  portion  of 
the  tract  embraced  by  said  mining  claim. — [March  12,  1873. 

11.  Proof  of  Character.— Where  land  has  been  returned  as  agricultural  and  duly 
entered  as  such  and  payment  made,  and  subsequently  it  is  alleged  to  be  mineral,  the 
agricultural  claimants  have  a  right  to  insist  that  the  burden  of  proof  shall  be  upon 
the  mineral  claimants.— [Feb.  12, 1872. 

12.  The  non-mineral  afTidavit  required  in  agricultural  entries  may  be  made  by  an 
agent,  upon  filing  his  authority  to  act  in  the  premises,  and  furnishing  proof  that  hia 
principal  is  not  personally  acquainted  with  the  land.— [Aug.  20, 1873. 

13.  In  cases  of  contest  as  to  the  mineral  or  agricultural  character  of  land,  the  bur- 
den of  proof  will  be  upon  the  party  seeking  to  disprove  the  correctness  of  the  return. 
—[Dec.  2. 1872. 

See  Application  for  Patent;  Entky,12;  Mineral  Lands;  Patent;  Valuablb 
MiNBBAL  Deposits. 


64  DIGEST  OF  DECISIONS 


ALASKA  TERRITOEY. 

No  application  for  patents  for  mining  lands  in  Alaska  Territory  can  be  received  in 
the  General  Land  Office — said  territory  not  having  been  organized  into  a  surveying 
district.— [Aug.  2, 1873. 

APPEAL. 

1.  In  the  case  of  The  OveiTiian  Mining  Co.  vs.  The  Dardanelles  Mining  Co.,  tlie 
question  presented  ■was,  whether  a  party  having  once  appealed  from  the  decision  of 
the  local  officers,  and  that  appeal  having  been  dismissed,  can  go  back  of  the  decision 
appealed  from  and  appeal  from  another  decision  made  prior  to  that,  or  whether  the 
first  appeal  brought  the  whole  case  before  the  Commissioner  and  gave  him  jurisdic- 
tion thereof,  and  required  that  all  objections  to  the  proceedings  up  to  the  date  of  the 
first  appeal  should  be  presented  to  the  Commissioner,  or  if  not  presented  regarded  as 
waived.  Held,  that  the  appeal  brought  before  the  Commissioner  tlie  entire  proceed- 
ings that  had  taken  place  prior  to  the  date  of  the  order  appealed  from,  and  that  all 
exceptions  should  have  been  presented  and  insisted  upon  before  the  Commissioner  on 
the  hearing  of  such  appeal,  and  in  default  thereof  should  be  considered  as  having 
been  waived. — [Decision  of  B.  R.  Cowen,  Acting  Secretary  of  the  Department  of  the 
Interior,  July  19,  1873. 

2.  The  General  Land-OflBce  will  require  a  written  statement  of  "  points  of  excep-« 
tion  to  its  action"  in  cases  of  appeal  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior. — [Aug.  18, 
1873. 

3.  The  law  does  not  fix  a  time  within  which  an  appeal  may  be  taken  from  the 
decisions  of  local  land-oflScers,  and  it  is  the  custom  and  usage  of  the  General  Land- 
Office  to  permit  appeals  from  decisions  of  Registers  and  Receivers  when  the  same 
are  properly  filed  witliin  reasonable  time,  unless  the  time  is  mentioned  in  the  decis- 
ion within  which  the  appeal  must  be  filed.— [April  11,  1873. 

4.  In  cases  of  appeal  from  the  General  Land-Office  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Inte- 
rior no  new  or  additional  evidence  can  be  submitted. — [Aug.  21,  1872, 


APPLICATION    FOR    PATENT. 

1.  Each  application  is  an  entirety  and  rests  upon  its  own  merits.  It  is  contrary 
to  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  law  to  permit  one  person  or  association  of  persons  to 
file  one  protest  against  several  applications  for  patents  for  separate  and  distinct 
lodes.— [June  9,  1873. 

2.  There  is  nothing  in  the  mineral  statutes  of  Congress  forbidding  one  person  or 
an  association  of  pei'sons  purchasing  as  many  "separate  and  distinct  locations "  as 
tie  or  they  may  desire,  and  embracing  in  one  application  for  patent  their  entire 
claim.— [Nov.  21, 1874. 

3.  Where  a  purchaser,  after  the  commencement  of  proceedings  to  obtain  patent, 
but  before  entry  at  the  local  oflBce,  files  in  the  General  Land-OfiSce  a  deed  from  an 
applicant  to  himself,  the  Register  and  Receiver  will  be  instructed  to  have  the  certifi- 
cates and  receipts  made  out  in  his  name. — [Oct.  2,  1872,  and  March  8, 1873. 

4.  Where  a  miner  included  in  his  application  a  legal  subdivision  of  land,  not  em- 
braced in  his  original  mineral  location,  and  which  he  did  not  claim  to  be  mineral 
land,  he  was  restricted  to  the  land  included  in  the  original  location,  and  the  remain- 
ing portion  of  the  land  was  held  to  be  agricultural.— [April  15, 1873. 

6.  An  application  for  patent  will  be  rejectedwhen  the  survey  doesnot  accurately 
define  the  boundaries  of  the  claim.— [Jan.  6,  1874. 


DIGEST    OF  DECISIONS.  65 

6.  Where  it  appears  that  a  greater  width  of  surface  ground  is  embraced  ia  an 
application  for  patent  than  the  local  laws  permit,  tlie  width  of  the  claim  must  be 
diminished  to  conform  to  the  local  laws  before  entry. — [May  1, 1873. 

7.  By  incorporations. — Where  incorporated  companies  apply  for  patents  they 
must  file  a  copy  of  their  certificate  of  incorporation  or  charter  with  the  application. 
[Sept.  11,  1873. 

8.  Filing  of. — A  filing  of  an  application  for  patent  with  the  Register  is 
equivalent  to  "  filing  with  the  Register  and  Receiver,"  within  the  spirit  and  meaning 
of  the  aet  of  May  10, 1872.— [Opinion  of  Asst.  Atty-Gen.  Smith,  Sept.  30,  1873,  and 
Decision  of  Secretary  Delano,  Nov.  24,  1873. 

9.  Conflict  in. — Where  two  applications  for  patent  nnder  the  mining  statute 
conflict  with  each  other,  the  applicants  may  compromise  and  release  to  each  other  a 
portion  of  the  premises  embraced  in  the  respective  applications,  and  a  survej'will  be 
required  showing  the  exterior  boundaries  of  the  claims  and  the  compromise  line. — 
[Aug.  18,  1874. 

10.  Who  may  make. — Where  several  parties  own  separate  and  distinct  portions 
of  a  claim  apiilication  for  patent  may  be  made  by  either  for  that  portion  of  the  claim 
owned  by  him,  but  where  several  parties  own  individual  interests  in  a  mining  claim 
all  should  join  in  an  application  for  patent. — [Feb.  IS,  1873. 

11.  Description  in. — An  application  will  be  rejected  where  the  description  of  the 
premises  is  erroneous  or  insufficient. — [June  18,  1873. 

12.  Where  several  locators  on  legal  subdivisions  convey  their  interest  to  one 
person,  such  person  may  apply  for  a  patent  to  the  extent  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  on  filing  copies  of  the  original  notices  of  location  and  an  abstract  of  title 
showing  the  record  title  to  be  in  the  name  of  the  applicant. — [Jan.  22,  1873. 

13.  Persons  having  no  possessory  rights  under  local  laws  and  regulations,  and 
who  liave  not  made  the  improvements  required  by  the  mining  statute,  are  not  au- 
thorized to  apply  lor  patents. — [Jan.  2-?,  18G9. 

11.  On  town  sites. — Applications  for  patent  or  entries  for  mining  claims  situate 
within  the  e.xteusive  boundaries  of  town  sites  will  be  received  where  ajiplicanta 
show  by  satisfactory  proof  possession,  or  right  of  possession  thereto,  under  local  and 
congressional  enactments.— [June  l.t,  187.;. 

l.*).  When  applicant  must  commence  de  novo. — Where  an  applicant,  after  filing 
plat  and  licld-notes  of  his  mining  claim,  requested  that  the  United  States  Surveyor- 
General  for  the  State  be  instructed  to  correct  said  plat  and  field-notes,  in  order  that 
they  siiould  be  "in  conformity  to  law  and  the  regulations  of  the  land  olTice,  and  cor- 
rectly and  accurately  show  the  boundaries  of  said  claim ; "  held,  that  the  request 
cannot  be  granted,  but  the  applicant  must  commence  de  novo. — [Jan.  G,  1874. 

10.  Evidence  on. — The  evidence  on  file,  on  an  application  for  patent,  must  show 
that  the  applicant  has  the  recoid  title  of  the  premises  described  in  his  api)lication. — 
[June  is.  1873,  and  Jan.  6,  1874. 

17.  Where  the  applicant  for  patent  cannot  procure  the  affidavit  of  the  parties 
who  po-;ied  the  notice  and  diagram  of  location  on  a  lode,  the  testimony  of  two 
credible  persons  who  are  cognizant  of  the  necessary  facts  will  be  received. — [Nov. 
4,  1873. 

IS.  Where  a  raining  claim  is  situated  outside  of  a  regularly  constituted  mining 
district,  affidavit  of  the  fact  should  be  made,  and  secondary  evidences  of  possessory 
title  will  be  received. — [Nov.  12, 1&72. 

U.  S.  MIN.  S.  5. 


66  DIGEST   OF  DECISIONS. 

19.  Ex  parte  aflSdavits  may  be  received  in  applications  under  tte  mining  statute, 
but  the  otficer  receiving  such  testimony  should  be  satisfied  of  its  truth  and  the  credi- 
bility of  the  witness. 

20.  Defective  diagram  and  notice.— Where  a  diagram  and  notice  has  been  drawn 
in  a  manner  calculated  to  deceive,  and  parties  have  been  injuriously  affected  thereby, 
the  General  Land-Office  ■will  open  the  case  for  investigation  or  reject  the  claim  and 
require  proceedings  thereon  de  novo. — [Dec.  8, 1871. 

21.  Defective  notice. — Where  the  published  notice  does  not  properly  describe 
the  locus  of  the  claim,  as  the  same  is  set  forth  in  the  application  and  diagram,  pro- 
ceedings should  be  commenced  de  noiio.— [Nov.  10,  1871. 

22.  Certificate  of  Surveyor-General. — The  requirement  of  the  mining  statute 
that  the  Surveyor-General  shall  certify  "to  the  character  of  the  vein  exposed" 
means  that  the  certificate  should  show  the  nature  of  the  mineral  c(?iatained  in  the 
vein,  and  not  whether  the  metal  occurs  in  a  true  or  false  vein. — [July  20,  1871. 

23.  More  than  one  location  may  be  embraced  in  an  application  for  patent.— 
If  a  mining  company  is  in  the  possession  and  entitled  to  the  possession  of 
Beveral  locations,  by  virtue  of  compliance  with  the  local  laws,  customs,  and  regula- 
tions, and  the  acts  of  Congress,  it  may  embrace  them  in  one  application  and  receive 
a  patent  for  all  of  said  claims  upon  full  compliance  with  the  law  and  instructions.  In 
cases  of  this  kind  a  survey  must  be  made  of  each  location  separately,  and  the  pub- 
lished and  posted  notices  and  diagrams  must  contain  a  full  and  accurate  description 
of  each  tract  applied  for.  The  notice  and  diagram  must  be  posted  upon  each  tract 
described  therein,  and  record  title  should  be  furnished  in  regard  to  each  location  and 
proof  that  not  less  than  five  hundred  dollars  has  been  expended  upon  each  separate 
location  or  claim.  But  claims  situated  at  remote  distances  from  each  other  in  differ- 
ent land  or  mining  districts  may  not  be  so  embraced. — [Land-Oflfice  Report,  1874,  p.  52. 
See  Adverse  Claim,  14 ;  Entry  ;  Iron  ;  Mill  Site  ;  Patent,  7,  16 ;  Publication, 

1,  6,  8  ;  Survey,  2,  6,  8. 

CALIFORNIA. 
1.    The  congressional  grant  of  March  3, 1853,  to  the  State  of  California,  of  sec- 
tions IG  and  36,  for  school  purposes,  does  not  include  mineral  lands. — [Keystone 
Mining  Co.  et  al.  vs.  State  of  California.    Opinion  of  Secretary  Delano,  Jan.  18, 1872, 
and  Commissioner  Drummond,  May  14, 1873. 

See  Sixteenth  and  Thirty-sixth  Sections,  3. 

CITIZENSHIP. 

1.  No  distinction  is  made  by  the  mining  laws  in  the  matter  of  location,  occupa- 
tion and  appropriation  of  mining  claims  between  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  citizen 
and  those  of  a  person  who  has  declared  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen. — [Sept.  7, 
1874. 

2.  Where  a  party  filed  his  declaration  of  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  after  the  date  of  his  location  of  a  mining  claim,  but  prior  to  the  date  of 
Ws  application  for  patent,  it  was  held  that  he  was  qualified  to  make  entry,  apply  for 
and  receive  patent. — [Sept.  7, 1874. 

3.  Naturalization  has  a  retroactive  effect  and  is  deemed  a  waiver  of  all  liability 
to  forfeiture  and  a  confirmation  of  the  alien's  former  title.— [Sept.  7, 1874. 

4.  A  corporation  is  in  no  sense  a  citizen  within  the  meaning  of  that  term  as  used 
in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  or  in  the  laws  relating  to  the  public  lands. 
—[Opinion  of  Asst.  Atty-Gen.  Smith,  Aug.  4,  1871;  and  Decision  of  Commissioner 
Deummond,  June  7, 1871. 


DIGEST   OF  DECISIONS.  67 

5.  It  has  not  been  tlie  practice  of  the  land-office  to  require  proof  that  the  orig- 
inal locators  were  citizens,  except  in  tliose  cases  where  they  were  tlie  aii])licants  for 
patent.  It  will  not  be  presumed  that  they  were  not  citizens,  in  the  absence  of  any 
allegation  or  objection  before  the  issuing  of  patent  to  that  effect.  After  patent  has 
actually  issued  it  is  too  late  to  make  this  objection. 

See  Affidavit. 

COAL  LAXDS. 

1.  It  was  held  by  the  land-office  that  while  the  fourth  section  of  tlie  act  of  March 
3,  1&73  (17  U.  S.  Stat,  G07),  [Sec.  23')0,  Eev.  Stat.]  limits  eacli  individual  to  one 
entrj'  and  prohibits  the  holdiug  of  other  coal  lands  by  one  who  has  in  any  manner 
participated  in  the  one  entry  allowed ;  it  is  not  intended  that  the  tract  or  tracts  entered 
shall  be  in  compact  form,  the  only  restriction  being  that  of  quantity  bounded  by  legal 
lines  of  subdivisions. — [Land-Ofiice  Report,  1874,  p.  53. 

2.  Where  an  incorporated  company  desires  to  file  an  application  for  patent  under 
laws  relating  to  coal  land,  this  office  has  ruled  tliat  it  will  be  necessary  for  tlie  Secre- 
tary of  such  company  to  file  with  the  local  officers  his  affidavit  setting  forth  in  full  the 
names  of  all  the  stockholders  at  the  date  of  actual  purchase,  and  that  each  stock- 
holder will  be  required  to  file  his  affidavit  to  the  cfiTect  that  he  lias  never  held  nor 
purchased  any  coal  lands  under  the  act  of  Congress,  approved  March  3, 187:^,  entitled 
"  An  act  to  provide  for  the  sale  of  lands  of  the  United  States  containing  coal,"  either 
as  an  individual  or  as  a  member  of  an  association. — [Land-OfBce  Report,  1874,  p.  63. 

3.  Upon  a  case  submitted  from  Utah  it  was  held  that  where  land  has  been  returned 
by  the  Surveyor-General  as  "  coal  lands,"  it  cannot  be  entered  as  a  town  site  until 
it  has  been  decided  by  this  office  upon  testimony  submitted  at  a  hearing  lield  in 
accordance  with  existing  circular  instructions  that  the  land  is  of  more  value  for  agri- 
cultural and  town  site  purposes  than  for  coal  mining,  the  coal  land  law  providing  for 
the  sale  of  lands  by  legal  subdivisions  only.— [Land-Office  Report,  1874. 

4.  Lands  containing  coal  or  other  valuable  mineral  deposits  cannot  bo  patented 
nnder  the  laws  regulating  the  disposal  of  agricultural  lands [Dec.  II,  1873. 

5.  Where  land  has  been  returned  as  "  coal  land"  by  the  Surveyor-General,  it  can 
not  be  entered  as  a  town  site  until  a  hearing  has  been  held  to  determine  whether  it  is 
mineral  or  agricultural  in  character.— [April  21, 1874 

6.  The  coal  land  law  provides  for  the  sale  of  land  by  legal  subdivisions  only, 
and  hence  where  there  is  a  controversy  it  will  be  necessary  to  present  evidence  in 
regard  to  each  forty-acre  tract.— [April  21, 1874, 

7.  The  right  to  follow  the  vein,  although  it  may  enter  the  adjoining  land,  is  only 
authorized  in  cases  of  veins  or  lodes,  bearing  the  precious  metals,  and  does  not  apply 
to  a  vein  or  bed  of  coa.\.—lIhid, 

CEMENT  CLAIMS, 
Auriferous  cement  claims  must  be  patented  as  placers [Feb.  12, 1872. 

CLAIM. 

The  term  "  claim,"  as  used  in  the  mining  law,  is  held  to  mean  that  portion  of  the 
rein  or  lode,  and  adjoining  surface  to  which  the  claimant  has  the  riglit  of  possession 
by  virtue  of  a  compliance  with  the  laws  of  the  United  States  and  the  local  customs 
or  rules  of  miners  not  in  conflict  therewith [Sept.  9, 1872,  and  June  20,  1872. 


68  DIGEST  OF  DECISIONS, 


COMSTOCK  LODE. 

1.  An  adverse  claim  based  on  a  contingency  will  not  be  entertained.— The 

case  of  the  Chollar  Potosi  Mining  Co.  vs.  the  Julia  Mining  Co.  involved  the  rights  of 
locators  to  veins  or  lodes  lying  east  of  tlie  Comstock  Lode,  and  adjoining  on  the  sm-face 
patented  ground  on  the  Comstock.  The  (acts  weie  as  follows:  On  February  4th, 
1870,  a  patent  issued  to  the  Chollar  Poiosi  Mining  Co.  for  fourteen  hundred  linear 
feet  of  the  Comstock  Lode,  the  premises  granted  being  bounded  on  the  east  and  west 
by  the  walls  of  the  Comstock,  not  yet  definitely  ascertained,  and  containing  34  74-100 
acres.  On  the  30th  December,  1871,  the  Julia  Mining  Company  applieil  for  patents 
to  several  lodes  lying  easterly  of  the  premises  patented  to  the  Chollar  Potosi,  all  of 
which  were  located  subsequent  to  the  issue  of  patent  to  the  Chollar  Potosi.  On  the 
20th  December,  1871,  the  Chollar  Potosi  Mining  Company  filed  a  protest  against 
issuing  patents  to  the  Julia  Company  on  the  ground  that  patent  had  issued  to  said 
Chollar  Potosi  Company  for  their  claim  on  the  Comstock,  and  that  said  lodes  for 
which  the  Julia  Company  had  made  application  for  patent  are  the  same  which  under- 
lie the  ground  embraced  in  the  Chollar  Potosi  patent,  and  that  underlying  the  land 
claimed  by  the  Julia  Company  there  exists  no  other  vein,  lode,  or  lodes  than  such  as 
are  part  and  parcel  of  the  Comstock  so  patented  to  the  Chollar  Potosi.  There  was  no 
conflict  as  to  the  surface  ground  embraced  by  the  Julia  *  *  *  *  i--  'jhe 
question  raised  was  whether  the  protest  entered  by  the  Chollar  Potosi  Mining 
Company  against  the  issuance  of  patents  to  the  Julia  Company,  and  the  reasons 
assigned  by  said  company  for  such  protest  constituted  "  an  adverse  claim  "  within  the 
meaning  and  spirit  of  the  act  of  July  26,  1866.  The  Chollar  Potosi  Company  failed 
to  produce  any  proof  in  support  of  their  statement  that  the  lodes  sought  to  be  pat- 
ented by  the  Julia  Company  were  idputical  with  the  Comstock  Lode.  The  Julia 
Company  produced  proof  tending  to  show  that  each  of  the  lodes  claimed  by  said  com- 
pany is  a  separate  and  distinct  lode  from  the  Comstock.  The  Commissioner  of  the 
General  Land  Office  held  that  the  objections  of  the  Chollar  Potosi  Company  to  tho 
application  of  the  Julia  Company  was  based  "  on  a  contingency  which  may  possibly 
hereafter  occur,  and  not  on  anything  definite  or  langible,"  and  that  although  "the 
Comstock  lode  and  all  of  the  veins  or  lodes  claimed  by  the  Julia  Company  may  at 
some  remote  period  be  found  in  their  course  downward  into  the  earth  to  converge 
and  unite,  and  below  their  point  of  junction  form  one  main  fissiu'c,  this  is  a  contin- 
gency only  determinable  by  future  developments  "  and  will  not  justify  tlie  inilefiuito 
suspension  of  the  execution  of  the  United  States  Mining  Laws  until  such  hypothesis 
is  demonstrated  *  *  *  *  *  "  If  the  lodes  claimed  by  the  Jiilia  Company  should 
be  patented  and  after  further  developments  be  found  to  unite  with  the  Comstock 
Lode,  the  Chollar  Potosi  Company,  in  view  of  the  law  and  by  reason  of  their  prior 
location  and  patent  would  be  as  fully  invested  with  title  to  said  lode  below  the  point 
of  union,  including  all  the  space  of  intersection,  as  if  the  Julia  claims  had  not  been 
patented,  their  right  however  to  the  vein  claimed  by  said  Julia  Company  above  tho 
point  of  intersection,  should  they  be  found  to  unite  not  being  recognized  by  statute." 
The  Chollar  Potosi  Company  appealed  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  where  the 
decision  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  was  affirmed  and  patent 
directed  to  issue  to  the  Julia  Company.— [Chollar  Potosi  Mining  Co.  vs.  Julia  Min- 
ing Co.  Decision  of  Commissioner  Dkummond,  May  27,  1872,  and  Secretary  Delano, 
Feb.  24, 1873. 

2.  Conditions  expressed  in  patents  on  the  Comstock.— In  issuing  patents  for 
claims  on  tho  Comstock  Lotle,  or  claims  within  two  thousand  feet  on  either  side  of 
tho  line  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel,  a  clause  will  be  inserted  that  such  claim  shall  be  subject 
to  tho  condition  specified  in  tho  the  third  section  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Act  (approved 
July  25, 1806,)  "  and  the  giantec  herein  shall  contribute  and  pay  to  the  owners  of  the 
tunnel,  constructed  pursuant  to  said  act,  for  drainage  or  otlier  benefits  derived  from 


DIGEST   OF   DECISIONS.  69 

said  tunnel  or  its  branches,  the  same  rate  of  charges  as  have  been  or  may  hereafter 
be  named  in  agreement  between  such  onwers  and  the  companies  representing  a 
majority  of  the  estimated  value  of  said  Comstock  Lode,  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of 
said  act,  as  provided  in  said  section." — [March  8,  1873. 

3.  No  patent  can  issue  for  premises  lying  within  the  limits  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel 
grant,  unless  said  premises  come  within  the  exceptions  provided  for  in  the  second 
section  of  the  Sutro  Tunnel  Act,  approved  July  25,  18j6.— [March  29, 1&73. 

See  Appendix. 

COEPORATION. 
See  Appxioation  fob  Patent,  7;    Affidavits,  1,  6;    Citizenship,  4;   Coal 

Lands,  2. 

EASEMENTS. 
See  Water  Rights;  Adverse  Claims,  34. 

ENTRY. 

When  premises  are  in  litigation  no  entry  should  be  permitted  by  either  party. 
—[Oct.  3,  1873. 

A  single  entry  may  be  made  on  a  tract  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 

placer  ground  where  the  parties  hold  the  same  in  accordance  with  local  laws [July 

10,  1873. 

Where  a  suit  against  an  applicant  has  been  decided  in  his  favor  the  Register  will 
allow  the  entry  to  be  made  upon  the  filing  of  the  certificate  of  the  clerk  of  the  court 
that  no  suit  is  pending,  brought  by  an  adverse  claimant,  afl'ccting  the  title  to  said 
property.— [Oct.  30,  1873. 

Parties  will  not  be  permitted  to  make  entry  of  mineral  land  as  placer  claims  until 
they  furnish  satisfactory  proof  that  such  premises  do  nod  contain  any  known  veins  or 
lodes  of  quartz  or  other  rock  in  place  bearing  valuable  minerals — [Aug.  27, 1873,  and 
Oct.  17, 1873. 

Where  application  was  made  by  A  for  certain  placer  mining  ground,  and  no  men- 
tion was  made  of  the  existence  of  any  vein  or  lode  within  its  exterior  boundaries,  and 
subsequently  B  made  application  for  a  patent  on  a  vein  or  lode  within  such  bound- 
aries, and  A  filed  an  adverse  claim  ;  held,  that  B  was  entitled  to  make  entry  of  the 
premises  as  a  vein  or  lode. — [Oct.  17, 1873. 

Where  several  non-contiguous  tracts  lying  in  one  mining  district  are  embraced  in 
one  entry,  it  is  essential  that  a  diagram  of  each  parcel,  together  with  a  copy  of  the 
notice  of  intention  to  apply  for  a  patent  therefor  should  be  posted  on  the  claim  for 
the  period  required  by  law.  The  notice  to  be  posted  in  the  Register's  office  for  a  like 
period  may  consist  of  a  copy  of  that  published  in  the  newspaper. — [Nov.  19,  1870. 

Kining  claim  on  town  site. — Where  a  party  has  a  bona  fide  mining  claim  within 
the  limits  of  a  town  site,  he  will  be  allowed  to  enter  the  same,  even  though  it  conflict 
with  a  town  site  aiiplicatinn.— [Aug.  I'.t,  1^72,  and  Jan.  21,  l'^7:!. 

Construction  of  section  10,  act  of  1872  [Sec.  2341,  Eev.  Stat]— The  object  of  tlie 
tenth  section  [of  act  of  ISOfi]  was  to  give  to  persons,  who  had  in  good  faith  made 
agricultural  settlements  on  public  lands  theretofore  designated  as  mineral,  but  subse- 
quently determined  to  be  agricultural,  a  preference  in  pre-empting  or  entering  the 
land  as  homesteads,  over  those  admitted  to  similar  rights  by  the  eleventh  section. 
— IDec.  14,  1872. 

See  Agricultural  Lands,  1-13 ;  Coal  Lands,  1 ;  Patent,  17. 


70  DIGEST  OF  DECISIONS. 


ERROR. 

A  clerical  error  in  the  register's  final  certificate  ia  a  mineral  entry  in  an  owner's 
name,  as  Butterfield  instead  of  Butterwood,  does  not  affect  the  validity  of  a  patent 
issued  under  the  name  of  Butterwood. — fDecision  of  Secretary  Delano,  April,  1875. 

See  Survey,  7. 

EVIDENCE. 

The  rule  that  no  witness  should  be  excluded  on  account  of  being  a  party  to  or 
interested  in  the  issue  tried  should  be  observed  ia  proceedings  before  the  Executive 
Department,  subject  to  the  rules  governing  the  weight  of  testimony.— [Aug.  15,  186'J. 

Parol  evidence  is  admissible  to  define  what  tract  is  embraced  in  a  location. — 
[Decision  of  Secretary  Delano,  Highland  Chief  case. — April,  187.J. 

See  Adverse  Claim,  17 ;  Agricultural  Lands,  11, 12, 13  ;  Application  for  Patent, 

l(i-iy. 

EXPENDITURES. 

1.  On  lodes  and  veins. — On  all  lodes  located  prior  to  May  10, 1872,  there  must  be 
an  annual  expenditure  of  not  less  than  ten  dollars  in  labor  or  improvements  for  each 
one  hundred  feet  so  claimed  aloug  the  lode. — [Aug.  27, 1S73. 

2.  Where  several  individual  locations,  made  prior  to  May  10,  1872,  njion  the-  same 
lode  are  held  in  common  by  one  or  more  persons,  the  entire  expenditure  necessary 
to  hold  all  the  claims  so  held  in  canimon  on  such  lode  may  be  made  upon  any  one 
claim  thereon. — llbid. 

3.  Expenditures  made  upon  any  one  claim  or  Icvde,  however  great,  can  in  no  way 
be  made  to  apply  to  other  lodes  claimed  by  the  same  party. — {Ibid. 

4.  Upon  all  claims  located  after  May  10,  1872,  not  less  than  one  hundied  dollars 
shall  be  expended  in  labor  or  improvements  during  each  year,  and  that  year  shall 
commence  from  the  date  of  the  location  of  the  claim. — [Sept.  11,  1872. 

6.  Expenditures  may  be  made  from  the  surface  or  in  running  a  tunnel  for  the 
purpose  of  developing  a  lode,  and  where  a  tunnel  iarun  for  the  develo-pment  of  a  par- 
ticular lode  or  vein,  it  will  be  considered  as  work  done  upon  such  lode  or  vein — [May 
2, 1874. 

6.  A  claimant  of  a  locatioii,  to  entitle  him  to  the  possession  of  his  location,  must 
make  the  annual  expendituj-e  upon  his  claim  each  and  every  year  after  January  1, 
1875,  until  patent  shall  have  been  issued  therefor. — [.May  12, 1874,  and  Dec.  2, 1S74. 

7.  Section  five  of  the  act  of  May  10, 1872  [See  2324,  Rev.  Stat-l,  requiring  certain 
expenditures  each  year,  applies  to  all  claims  which  have  not  been  patented — [Aug. 
17, 1872. 

8.,.  Where  a  number  of  claims  of  one  hundred  or  two  hundred  feet  each,  as  the 
case  may  be,  upon  the  same  lode  are  held  in  common  by  one  or  moie  persons,  the 
aggregate  amount  necessary  to  hold  all  the  claira.s  so  held  in  common  on  a  lode,  at 
the  rate  of  ten  dollars  per  hundred  feet,  may  be  expended  upon  any  one  claim 
thereon,  or,  in  other  words,  at*any  one  point  on  the  lode  so  held  in  common  ;  the 
words  "  where  such  claims  are  held  in  common,  such  expenditure  may  be  made  on 
any  one  claim,"  being  constr-aed  to  mean  that  where  several  of  these  individual  loca- 
tions, made  previous  to  May  10,  1872,  ujjon  the  same  lode  arc  held  in  common  by  one 
or  inuro  persons,  the  entire  expenditure  necessary  to  hold  all  the  clainia  so  held  m 


DIGEST   OF  DECISIONS.  .        71 


common  on  sucli  lode  may  be  made  upon  any  one  claim  thereon,  but  that  expendi- 
tures made  upon  auy  one  lode  or  claim,  however  great,  can  in  no  way  be  made  to 
apply  to  other  lodes  claimed  by  the  same  parties.  In  the  case  under  consideration  a 
certain  mining  company  are  tlie  claimants  of  nine  separate  lodes,  all  of  which  it  i3 
their  purpose  to  develop  and  improve  by  a  mining  tunnel  now  being  run  in  order  to 
intersect  such  lodes  below  the  surface.  If  this  interpretation  of  the  law  is  correct, 
work  done  and  expenditures  made  in  constructing  a  tunnel  intended  for  the  develop- 
ment and  improvement  of  lodes  will  not  satisfy  the  legal  requirement  as  to  expendi- 
ture as  aforesaid  ;  but  such  expenditure  or  labor  must  be  made  in  good  faith  upon 
each  lode  claimed,  otherwise  the  same  will  be  subject  to  relocation  by  other  parties, 
as  provided  by  law.— [Land  Office  Eeport,  1S72,  p.  63. 

9.  On  placer  claims. — Annual  expenditures'are  required  only  upon  vein  or  lode 
claims,  leaving  placer  claims  as  they  had  been  previous  to  the  passage  of  the  act  of 
May  10,  1872,  subject  to  the  operation  of  the  local  laws,  rules,  regulations  and  cus- 
toms.—[April  25,  ls74: 

10.  Wiiere  an  application  embraces  two  or  more  separate  and  distinct  tracts  of 
placer  mining  ground  (not  contiguous)  the  required  amount  of  expenditure  (viz: 
$500)  should  be  expended  upon  each  tract,  and  a  copy  of  the  diagram  and  notice 
posted  on  eacli  tract. — [Xov.  21,  1874. 

11.  The  mining  laws  do  not  require  an  expenditure  of  five  hundred  dollars  upon 
each  "  location  "  of  a  placer  claim  embraced  in  an  application  for  patent,  where  the 
locations  are  contiguous  and  embrace  one  claim.— [/6id. 

12.  One  of  the  conditions  precedent  to  obtaining  patent  for  a  mining  claim, 
whethgr  vein  or  placer,  is  that  an  amount  of  not  less  than  five  hundred  dollars  shall 
have  been  expended  thereon  in  actual  labor  and  improvements. — [May  27, 1874. 

See  Mill-site  ;  Re-location  ;  Survey,  6 ;  Tl'nnels,  7-9. 

GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

See  Adveese  Claim:,  25,  26,  32  ;   Agricultuual  Lands,  6-7;   Appeal,  2,  3,4;  Min- 
eral Lands,  4. 

INDIAN  TERRITORY. 
See  Mineral  Land,  4. 

INTERSECTING  LODES. 
See  CoMSTOCK  Lode,  3. 

IRON. 

Iron  lands  are  patented  under  the  mining  act  of  May  10,  1872.  Where  the  iron  i3 
found  in  lodes  or  veins,  or  in  rock  in  place,  the  proceedings  to  obtain  patents  are  the 
same  as  those  prescribed  in  case  of  veins  or  lodes  bearing  the  j)recious  metals. 
Where  the  iron  is  not  found  in  rock  in  place,  the  proceedings  are  the  same  as  those 
prescribed  in  case  of  placer  claims.— [Land  OfTice  Report,  1874,  p.  53. 

JURISDICTION. 

In  mining  cases  consent  cannot  give  jurisdiction.  Substantial  compliance  with  the 
statute  is  required. — [Decision  of  Secretary  Delano,  Highland  Chief  case,  April  1, 
1875. 


72  DIGEST  OF  DECISIONS. 


LOCAL  LAWS. 

1.  The  miners  of  the  district,  State  or  Territory  are  authorized  to  regulate  the 
width  of  a  location  ;  provided,  however,  that  the  width  shall  not  exceed  six  hundred 
feet,  nor  be  limited  to  less  than  fifty  feet. — [May  20,  1873. 

2.  In  the  absence  of  State  or  Territorial  enactments  regulating  the  occupancy 
and  possession  of  mining  claims,  miners  may  alter  or  amend  the  laws  of  the  district, 
but  this  action  will  not  affect  claims  already  located,  as  a  claim  must  conform  to  the 
laws  in  force  at  the  date  of  its  location. — [Aug.  25, 1871. 

3.  Where  parties  claim  under  a  location  made  under  local  mining  regulations 
their  title  cannot  have  an  inception  prior  to  date  of  a  notice  of  location  in  which 
their  names  or  those  of  their  grantors  appear [Sept.  17  and  Oct.  11,  1S73. 

4.  Where  local  mining  regulations  permit  locations  in  excess  of  the  minimum 
fixed  by  the  Congressional  acts,  they  will  be  restricted  accordingly. — [March  19, 1873. 

5.  Where  the  local  laws  of  a  district  adopted  in  1854  provided  that  a  miner  might 
appropriate  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  it  was  in  conflict  with  the  fourth  section  of 
the  mining  act  of  ('ongress  of  1866,  and  the  statutory  act  must  prevail. — [Opinion  of 
Asst.  Atty-Gen.  Smith,  Aug.  4, 1871. 

6.  The  mining  regulations  of  the  different  mining  districts  remain  intact  and  in 
full  force  with  regard  to  the  size  of  locations  where  they  do  not  permit  locations 
in  excess  of  the  limits  fixed  by  Congress.  Where  the  local  laws  provide  that  placer 
locations  shall  not  exceed  one  hundred  square  feet  to  each  individual,  no  more  than 
that  amount  can  be  located. — [March  19, 1873. 

7.  In  regard  to  locations  made  prior  to  the  passage  of  Territorial  or  State  laws 
regulating  mining  claims,  and  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  mining  acts  of  Congress, 
the  land  officers  will  require  proof  that  the  claim  is  in  accordance  with  the  local  cus- 
toms or  regulations  of  the  miners  of  the  district  in  which  such  claim  is  situated. 
—[Sept.  22, 1870, 

8.  In  the  absence  of  local  district  laws  applicants  are  required  to  show  compli- 
ance with  the  mining  acts  of  Congress  in  force  at  the  date  of  their  locations.— [May 
16,1873. 

See  Advekse  Claim,  6;  Location,  1-13;  Patent,  2,  6,  12, 16;  Re-location. 

LOCATION. 

1.  On  veins  and  lodes. — Locations  made  prior  to  the  act  of  1866,  and  in  full  com- 
pliance with  local  laws  at  that  date,  were  valid  under  said  act  for  the  quantity  author- 
ized by  local  laws,  subject  to  the  general  limitation  of  such  local  laws. — [Aug.  26, 
1874. 

2.  There  is  no  provision  of  law  to  prevent  parties  from  locating  other  claims  upon 
the  same  lode,  outside  of  the  first  location  made  on  the  vein  or  lode,  provided  that  no 
one  location  shall  exceed  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  length. — [June  17,  1S73. 

3.  No  claim  located  after  May  10,  1872,  can,  under  any  circumstances,  exceed  six 
hundred  feet  in  width;  whether  a  location  made  after  that  date  can  equal  six  hundred 
feet  in  width  depends  upon  the  local  regulations,  or  State  or  Territorial  \a^■s  in  force 
in  the  mining  district  in  which  it  is  located.  The  surface  right  shall  not  be  limited  to 
less  than  fifty  in  width,  unless  adverse  claims  existing  on  May  10, 1872,  render  such 
lateral  limitation  necessary [May  20,  1873. 

4.  Claims  located  prior  to  May  10,  1872,  will  be  governed,  as  to  extent,  by  the 
local  laws,  customs  and  rules  then  in  force. — [Nov.  18, 1873. 


DIGEST  OF  DECISIONS.  73 

5.  A  location  being  illegal  and  void,  the  subsequent  proceedings,  even  if  in  due 
form,  would  be  invalid.— [April  l;j,  ls73. 

6.  Miners'  location  notices  sliould  not  be  held  to  technical  accuracy,  but  are  suf- 
ficient if  they  put  an  honest  inquirer  in  the  way  of  finding  the  lode.— [Decision  of 
Secretary  Delano,  April  1,  1875. 

7.  Placer. — The  size  of  placer  claims  located  prior  to  .July  9,  1S70,  is  regulated 
and  controlled  by  the  local  law  then  in  force.  Subsequent  to  July  9,  IblO,  and  prior 
to  May  10, 1S72,  no  location  of  a  placer  claim  can  exceed  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres.  After  the  passage  of  the  act  of  May  10,  1872,  no  location  made  by  an  indi- 
vidual can  exceed  twenty  acres,  and  no  locations  made  by  an  association  can  exceed 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres. — [Nov.  21, 1374. 

8.  Where  several  placer  claims  have  been  surveyed  by  the  United  States  undei 
the  local  laws  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  patenting  of  the  several  tracts  in  the 
same  neighborhood  as  a  single  entry,  though  not  contiguous ;  but  this  will  not  au- 
thorize the  joint  entry  of  parcels  or  claims  situated  at  wide  distances  from  each 
other  in  different  land  or  mining  districts. — [Decision  of  Commissioner  Wilson,  Nov. 
19,1870. 

9.  In  mining  districts  over  which  the  lines  of  the  public  surveys  have  not  yet 
been  extended,  a  placer  claim  held  and  occupied  according  to  the  district  regula- 
tions, and  upon  which  not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars  have  been  expended,  may, 
in  the  absence  of  an  adverse  claimant,  and  after  the  usual  proceedings,  be  surveyed, 
entered  and  patented,  whatever  may  be  its  shape  or  area  ;  provided,  that  such  claim 
was  located  at  a  date  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  statute  of  July  9, 1870,  which  inter- 
dicts, after  that  date,  the  location  of  a  claim  by  any  person  or  association  of  persona 
exceeding  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  extent,  whatever  the  mining  regulations 
of  the  district  may  prescribe [March  1, 1871. 

10.  Upon  surveyed  lands  no  lot  or  claim  smaller  than  ten  acres  can  be  patented 
under  the  act  of  July  9, 1870,  to  any  person  or  association  of  persons ;  the  subdi- 
vision of  fort3'-acre  tracts  into  ten-acre  legal  subdivisions  to  be  effected  in  the  manner 
prescribed  by  the  law  and  instructions. — [Iliid. 

11.  The  location  of  a  placer  mine,  made  after  May  10, 1872,  upon  surveyed  land 
sLould  embrace  legal  subdivisions  of  the  i)ublic  lands,  where  the  same  can  be  done 
without  interference  with  the  rights  of  other  bona  lide  mineral,  agricultural,  or  other 
claimants  in  the  same  tract. — [May  19, 1873. 

12.  Where  placer  mining  claims  are  situate  upon  unsurveyed  land,  or  where  by 
reason  of  some  other  bona  fide  claimant  a  legal  subdivision  of  surveyed  land  cannot 
be  embraced  in  an  application  for  patent,  a  survey  must  be  made  of  the  premises  in 
accordance  with  the  instructions  of  the  General  Land-Office. — llbid. 

13.  Placer  mining  claims  located  on  surveyed  lands  after  May  10,  1^72,  must  con- 
form as  nearly  as  practicable  with  the  public  surveys. — llbid. 

14.  Where  a  placer  claim  is  situate  u[)on  surveyed  lands  and  conforms  to  the 
legal  subdivisions  thereof,  no  survey  or  plat  will  be  required.  In  such  case  proof  of 
improvements  may  be  made  by  affidavit  of  parties  who  are  familiar  with  the  claim 
and  can  testify  to  the  necessary  facts.— [Nov.  23, 1873. 

IJ.  Proof  of  posting  notice  and  diagram  on  the  claim  should  be  specific  as  to 
when  the  period  of  such  posting  commenced.  It  is  too  late  after  patent  has  issued  to 
object  to  the  proof  because  it  is  not  thus  specific. — [Decision  of  Secretary  DeV.ano, 
'April  1, 1S75. 

See  Local  Laws,  1,8;  Entry;  Re-location;  §  2331  and  note;  also  pp.  42,  ii. 


74  DIGEST   OF   DECISIONS. 


MILL    SITES. 

Where  a  mill  site  is  applied  for  in  conuection  witli  a  lode  claim,  the  expenditure 
of  five  hundred  dollars  ahould  be  made  on  the  lode  claim  only,  and  is  not  required  on 
the  mill  site. 

Where  application  for  a  mill  site  is  made  satisfactory  proof  must  be  furnished  that 
the  land  claimed  is  not  mineral  in  character.— [July  29, 1872,  and  May  20, 1873. 

An  applicant  for  a  mill  site  on  which  a  lode  exists  claimed  by  adverse  parties  may 
file  an  abandonment  of  said  lode  and  will  be  entitled  to  receive  a  patent  for  the 
remainder  of  the  premises. — [Aug.  4, 1874. 

The  certificate  of  the  Surveyor-General  attached  to  a  mill-site  claim  should  con- 
tain a  clause  in  regard  to  the  value  of  improvements  upon  such  claim.— [April  16, 

1873. 

See  Expenditures  ;  Patent,  23. 

MINERAL    LANDS. 

1.  The  mining  act  of  May  10,  1872,  divides  the  mineral-producing  lands  into  two 
classes,  viz  :  first,  where  the  mineral  matter  is  found  in  roclc  in  place  ;  and  the  sec- 
ond includes  pZace?-s  and  all  forms  of  deposit  not  found  in  rock  in  place.  Only  such 
lands  as  come  under  the  second  classification  can  be  patented  as  placer  claims. — 
[Land  Office  Report,  1874,  p.  52. 

2.  Mineral  lands  are  expressly  excluded  from  the  privileges  of  the  pre-emption 
or  homestead  laws  by  the  acts  of  Congress  of  1841  and  the  seventh  section  of  the  act 
of  May  30, 1SG2,  extending  pre-emption  rights  to  unsurveyed  lands  in  California. — 
[Oct.  IG,  ISGS. 

3.  Where  lands  are  returned  as  mineral  by  the  Surveyor-General,  the  burden  of 
proof  will  be  on  parties  who  question  the  correctness  of  the  return,  and  unless  they 
establish  the  fact  that  they  are  properly  and  clearly  agricultural  land  they  must  fail 
in  the  assertion  of  any  claim  or  right  to  such  land  under  the  laws  regulating  the  dis- 
posal of  agricultural  land.  Proof  of  the  fact  that  no  paying  mines  have  thus  far  been 
discovered  or  developed  on  such  laud  is  not  sufficient. — [April  3,  1874. 

4.  Minerals  in  the  Indian  Territory  are  not  reserved  by  the  United  States,  and 
the  General  Land-Office  has  no  control  over  mineral-bearing  lands  therein.— [June 
2G,  1873. 

5.  State  selections  of  mineral  lands  cannot  he  approved.— [March  14,  1871. 

6.  Where  township  plats  have  not  been  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Register  and 
Receiver,  mineral  lands  within  such  townships  will  be  considered  as  upon  unsurvej^ed 
lands  and  dealt  with  accordingly.- [March  22, 1871. 

7.  Circular  instructions  issued  from  the  General  Land-Office  apply  to  all  mineral 
lands  of  the  United  States,  whether  surveyed  or  unsurveyed.— [Jan.  23,  18G9. 

8.  Agricultural  College  scrip  cannot  be  used  in  payment  for  mineral  lands.— 
[Jan.  30,  1873. 

See  Adverse  Claim,  35 ;  Agricultural  Lands,  1-13 ;  Entry  ;  Mill  Site  ;  Patent, 
4,  10,  22,  23  ;  Railroads. 

MINERS'    REGULATIONS. 
See  Local  Laws. 


DIGEST   or  DECISIONS.  75 


NEVADA. 

Mineral  lands  in  the  State  of  Nevada  situate  witliin  sections  sixteen  and  tliirt3'-si.x 
are  the  pioperty  of  the  United  States,  and  did  not  pass  to  the  State  by  the  enabling 
act  of  March  21,  18()4,  granting  such  sections  for  school  purposes. — [Decision  of  Sec- 
retary Cox,  May  20,  1870. 

See  Sixteenth  and  Thikty-sixth  Sections. 


NEW    MEXICO. 

In  dealing  with  claims  located  in  New  Mexico  between  July  18,  1855,  and  July  20, 
1806,  the  territorial  law  of  July  18, 1865,  will  be  recognized  in  all  respects,  but  with 
regard  to  locations  made  subsequent  to  July  20,  1866,  the  extent  of  ground  located 
must  be  restricted  by  the  mining  acts  of  Congress  in  force  at  the  date  of  the  loca- 
tion.--[Sept.  22,  1870. 

PATENT. 

1.  A  patent  must  conform  to  and  agree  with.the  description  as  given  in  the  plat 
and  field-notes  of  the  applicant. — [April  17,  1873. 

2.  The  mining  laws  do  not  restrict  a  party  to  one  patent,  but  give  the  right  to 
secure  title  to  as  many  claims  as  he  may  be  entitled  to  under  local  laws,  and  upon 
which  the  necessary  amount  has  been  expended  in  labor  and  improvements.— [Sept. 
21,  1872. 

3.  A  patent  will  issue  to  parties  who  satisfactorily  show  they  have  the  possessory 
title  to  a  lode,  even  though  such  patent  was  made  out  in  the  name  of  othei's. — [April 
4,  1872. 

4.  No  patent  shall  issue  for  any  mineral  lands  about  which  any  one,  other  than 
the  petitioner,  asserts  any  right  of  possession. — [Opinion  of  Asst.  Atty.-Gen.  Smith, 
Aug.  4,  1871. 

5.  No  patent  can  issue  where  the  application  states  and  the  diagram  shows  that 
no  surface  ground  was  claimed  along  the  line  of  the  lode.— [March  21,  1873,  and 
March  29,  1873. 

6.  Patents  for  claims  located  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  mining  acts  of  Congress 
must  conform,  as  to  extent,  to  the  territorial  or  local  laws  in  force  at  the  date  of  their 
location.— [Aug.  14,  1873. 

7.  Effect  of.— Where  an  application  for  patent  was  pending  under  the  act  of  1866, 
on  the  loth  day  of  May,  1872,  none  of  the  rights  which  tlie  applicant  had  acquired  by 
virtue  of  compliance  with  said  act  of  IscG  were  affected  or  impaired  in  any  way,  and 
patents  issued  upon  applications  of  this  class  convey  the  same  rights  which  were  con- 
veyed under  the  act  of  1866,  together  with  all  other  veins  or  lodes,  the  top  or  apexes 
of  which  lie  inside  the  exterior  boundaries  of  the  surface  ground  patented,  to  the 
extent  and  in  the  manner  provided  by  the  third  section  of  the  act  of  May  10,  1872. — 
[Nov.  10, 1871,  Dec.  26,  1872,  May  20,  1S73,  Aug.  17.  1874. 

b.  A  patent  granted  for  a  mining  claim  under  the  act  of  July  26,  1800,  conveys  to 
the  grantee  therein  named  the  surface  ground  embraced  within  the  exterior  bound- 
aries of  the  survey,  and  the  particular  lode  named  in  the  patent  for  the  number  of  feet 
patented  along  the  course  thereof,  with  all  its  dips,  angles,  and  variations,  although 
it  may  depart  from  the  surface-ground  described  in  the  survey,  and  enter  the  land 
adjoining.— [  Ibid. 


76  DIGEST  OF  DECISIONS. 

!).  On  town-sites. — In  all  patents  for  mining  claims  situate  witliin  the  exterior 
boundaries  ot  a  town-site,  a  clause  will  be  inserted  "  excepting  and  excluding  all 
town  property  rights  upon  the  surface,  and  all  houses,  buildings,  lots,  streets,  etc., 
or  other  improvements  not  belonging  to  the  grantee  herein,  and  all  rights  necessary 
or  proper  to  the  occupation,  possession,  and  enjoyment  of  the  same." — [June  19, 1873. 

10.  When  will  be  set  aside. — A  patent  for  mineral  lands  improperly  issued  will 
be  set  aside.— [Opinion  of  Atty.-Gen.  Williams,  Jan  14, 1873. 

11.  Where  patent  was  inadvertently  issued  or  procured  through  fraud,  it  will  be 
cancelled.— [Oct.  3, 1873,  March  6,  1874. 

12.  If  a  patent  be  issued  for  lands  under  an  agricultural  claim  while  a  valid  min- 
ing claim,  under  local  laws,  existed  on  the  premises,  and  the  parties  were  engaged  in 
mining  at  the  time  of  the  agricultural  entr}',  the  General  Land-Office  will,  on  satisfac- 
tory proof  of  the  fact,  aflord  the  miner  all  the  aid  in  its  power  to  set  aside  the  patent 
and  enable  him  to  acquire  title.— [July  17, 1873. 

13.  Where  a  patent  has  been  obtained  by  artifice  or  fraud  upon  a  record  regular 
npon  its  face,  the  General  Land-Office  will  ask  the  Department  of  Justice,  that  the 
party  injured  be  permitted  to  use  the  name  of  the  United  States  in  the  prosecution 
of  proper  proceedings  in  the  courts. — [July  26,  1873. 

14.  To  whom  will  issue Patents  for  mining  claims  ar^  issued  to  the  party 

named  in  the  Register's  certificate  of  entry. — [March  8, 1873. 

15.  When  a  party  becomes  a  purchaser  after  the  date  of  entry,  an  indorsement 
should  be  made  upon  the  duplicate  receipt  by  the  applicant,  assigning  all  his  rights, 
whereupon  patent  will  issue  to  such  purchaser. — [Oct.  2,  1872,  and  March  8, 1873. 

16.  One  or  more  parties  may  unite  in  purchasing  the  interest  of  their  co-locators 
and  secure  a  patent  for  the  ground  on  showing  that  title  is  vested  in  them,  provided 
the  requirements  of  the  mining  statute  and  local  regulations  have  been  complied 
with.— [Xov.  6, 1863. 

17.  Where  the  duplicate  receipt  for  a  mineral  entry  has  been  lost,  a  patent  will 
issue  on  filing  satisfactory  proof  of  the  loss  and  the  authority  of  the  applicant  to 
receive  such  patent. — [April  18,  1870. 

18.  Error  in. — An  error  of  description  in  a  patent  will  be  corrected  by  the  Gen- 
eral Laud-Office  by  issue  of  a  new  patent,  upon  the  relinquishment  of  the  tir.st  patent, 
to  be  made  in  writing  upon  the  back  of  the  patent,  properly  attested,  under  seal,  by 
the  clerk  of  any  court  within  the  land  district  in  which  the  claim  is  situated.— [April 
11,  1871. 

19.  The  General  Land-Office  may  issue  a  second  patent  for  the  purpose  of  cor- 
recting a  mistake  or  inadvertence. — [July  26,  1873. 

20.  Where  there  are  no  adverse  interests,  a  patent  for  a  mine  will  not  be  disturbed, 
notwithstanding  irregularities  in  issuing  it — [Decision  of  Secretary  Delano,  April 
1,  1875. 

21.  Reservations  in.— In  all  patents  granted  in  mineral  regions  a  clause  or  condi- 
tion will  be  inserted  expressly  protecting  and  reserving  acquired  water  rights,  and 
making  the  patent  subject  thereto. — [March  21,  1872. 

22.  Every  patent  issued  for  mining  property  contains  an  express  clause  by  which 
all  other  veins  or  lodes,  except  the  one  named  in  the  grant,  are  excepted  and  ex- 
cluded from  the  conveyance.— [June  19,  1871,  and  April  1,  1872. 

23.  What  lands  may  be  patented  under  mining  statutes.— Where  valuable  min- 
eral deposits  are  found  in  such  quantity  and  quulity  as  to  render  the  land  sought  to 
be  patented  more  valuable  on  this  account  than  for  purposes  of  agriculture,  the 
tracts  containing  such  valuable  mineral  deposits  may  be  patented  under  the  mining 
Btatute.— [April  27, 1874. 


DIGEST  OP  DECISIONS.  77 

24.  If  land  does  not  contain  valuable  mineral  deposits  in  quantity  and  quality 
sufficient  to  render  the  land  more  valuable  on  tin's  account  than  for  purposes  of  agri- 
culture, it  cannot  be  patented,  under  the  mining  statute,  except  in  the  cases  of  mill 
sites,  which  must  be  non-mineral  in  character. — [Ihid. 

See  A(;KicrLTCKAL  Lands,  9;  CiTizEXSHrp,  2  ;  Comstock  Lode,  1,  2,  3  ;  Expekdi- 
TLRES,  12 ;  Ikon  ;  Location,  7, 15 ;  Mineral  Lands,  1 ;  Mill  Sites  ;  Publica- 
tion, 10 ;  Kailkoads  ;  Springs  ;  Suuvey  ;  Tunnel,  1. 

TLACER   CLAIMS. 
See  Expenditures,  9-12 ;  Entry  ;  Location,  G-13  ;  Local  Laws,  1-8. 

PLEADINGS. 
See  Adverse  Claim,  8,  lG-23. 

PLACER    CLAIMS. 

See  Application  for  Patent,;    Adverse   Claim;    Entry;    Expenditures,  9-12 ; 

Location     Patent. 

POSTING. 
That  notice  and  diagram  were  posted  on  the  claim  five  days  after  publication  was 
commenced,  and  thereafter  for  ninety  days,  was  an  jrregularity  only,  and  not  fatal. 
— [Decision  of  Secretary  Delano,  April  1,  1875. 

See  Entry  ;  Location,  15 ;  Publication. 

PUBLICATION. 

1.  Notice  of  intention  to  appU'  for  patent  must  be  published  continuously  for 
eixtj-  days  in  a  newspaper  to  be  designated  by  the  Register  as  published  nearest  to 
the  claim.-  [Nov.  12,  1873;   May  7,  1S74,  and  July  24,  1874. 

2.  Notice  must  be  published  for  the  full  period  of  sixty  days  continuously  in  the 
same  newspaper.  Where  notice  has  not  been  continuously  published  for  the  term 
of  sixty  days  in  the  same  newspaper  the  applicant  must  commence  de  novo. — [June 
16,  1874. 

3.  The  notice  must  be  published  the  same  ninety  days  that  the  notices  and  dia- 
grams arc  posted.- [June  18, 1873. 

4.  Where  publications  of  notice  are  made  in  weekly  newspapers,  the  time  elaps- 
ing between  the  fust  and  the  last  insertions  must  include  the  full  period  of  sixty 
days.— [Decision  of  Secretary  Delano,  April  30,  1874. 

5.  When  a  computation  of  time  is  to  commence  from  an  act  done,  the  day  on 
which  the  act  is  done  is  to  be  excluded. — [Opinion  of  Asst  Atty-Gen.  Smith,  Sept. 
30, 1873. 

C.  Where  a  notice  of  application  for  patent  was  published  forty-nine  days  in  one 
newspaper  and  fourteen  days  in  another;  Jielil,  that  the  publication  was  defective. — 
[Nov.  12,  1873. 

7.  In  estimating  the  sixty  days  of  publication  required  by  the  act  of  May  10, 
1872,  the  first  day  of  publication  should  be  excluded  and  the  last  included.— [Decision 
of  C.  Delano,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Nov.  24, 1G73. 

8.  Where  an  association  of  persons,  unincorporated,  apply  for  a  patent,  the  pub- 
lished notice,  certificate,  and  all  the  papers,  should  give  the  names  of  the  applicants. 
—(Sept.  11,  l!^73. 


78  DIGEST   OF  DECISIONS. 

9.  The  published  notice  must  agree  in  descriptiou  with  the  application,  and  if  it 
does  not,  the  applicant  has  failed  to  comply  with  the  statute — [Opinion  of  Asst. 
Atty.-Gen.  Smith,  Aug.  4, 1871. 

10.  It  is  too  late  after  patent  has  issued  to  make  objection  that  publication  ol 
Qotice  from  January  6th,  1S71,  to  April  6th,  1871,  was  not  a  compliance  with  the  stat- 
ute of  July  26th,  1866.— [Decision  of  Secretary  Delano,  April  1, 1875. 

11.  Proof  of  publication,  which  states  that  the  notice  was  published  for  a  period 
of  ninety  days,  commencing  Aprivl  15th,  1871,  isprima  facie  sufficient. — [Ibid. 

See  Application  fok  Patent,  21,  23. 

PUBLIC    LANDS. 

The  smallest  legal  subdivision  of  public  land  is  a  ten-acre  tract. — [Oct.  23, 1873. 
See  MiNEKAL  Lands  ;  Ageicultural  Lands. 

RAILROADS. 

Mineral  lands  do  not  pass  to  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  by  virtue  of  its  grant, 
but  the  timber  being  or  growing  upon  mineral  land  within  ten  miles  of  the  center 
line  of  said  road  or  branches  is  granted  to  said  railroad  company,  excepting  so  much 
as  is  "necessary  to  support  the  improvements  of  mine  owners"  upon  the  given 
tracts.— [Nov.  12,  1874. 

When  patent  issues  for  mineral  lands  within  the  limits  of  the  Central  Pacific  Rail- 
road grant,  a  clause  will  be  inserted  excepting  from  the  operation  of  the  patent  all 
timber  being  or  growing  upon  the  same,  except  such  as  is  necessary  to  support  the 
improvements  of  a  miner. — [Nov.  12,  1874. 

See  Appendix. 

REGISTERS  AND   RECEIVERS. 

Where  an  agricultural  claimant,  pending  contest  in  the  local  lana-office,and  before 
the  case  had  been  submitted  to  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land-Office  for 
review,  made  payment  and  received  a  daplicate  receipt.  Eeld,  that  the  decision  of 
the  local  officers  was  not  final,  and  he  only  acquired  a  vested  right  on  condition  that 
the  Commissioner  should  finally  concur  in  the  opinion  of  the  local  officers,  and  the 
power  of  the  Commissioner  to  revise  their  action  was  not  taken  away  by  their  neglect 
to  report  the  case  until  after  the  duplicate  receipt  had  issued.— [Decision  of  Sec'y 
CowEN,  April  19,  1872. 

Where  a  decision  is  rendered  by  which  a  claim  erroneously  entered  is  reduced  in 
size,  the  purchase  money  will  be  refunded  only  to  the  extent  necessary  to  make  the 
payment  meet  the  requirement  of  the  law. — [Sept.  14,  1870. 

Where  papers  have  once  been  filed  with  Register  and  Receiver,  they  become  a 
part  of  the  record  and  can  neither  be  withdrawn  or  returned,  but  must  be  transmitted 
to  the  General  Land-Office.— [July  21, 1S74. 

All  official  letters,  as  well  as  the  official  record  of  letters  sent  by  the  Registers 
and  Receivers,  are  the  property  of  the  United  States,  and  applicants  for  patent  have 
the  right  to  examine  any  and  all  papers  on  file,  but  no  papers  should  be  taken  from 
the  office.— [April  4, 1873,  and  April  14, 1873. 

See  Witnesses. 


DIGEST  OF  DECISIONS.  79 


RE -LOCATION. 

Where  a  party  applies  for  a  patent  for  a  re-located  mine  be  must  prove  the  ex- 
penditure of  five  hundred  dollars  on  tlie  mine  hy  himself  or  his  grantors,  notwith- 
5tanding  tliat  such  amount  may  have  been  expended  by  those  who  abandoned  the 
mine.— [Jan.  30, 1875. 

Claims  located  since  the  tenth  of  May,  1872,  become  liable  to  re-location  in  case 
the  required  amount  of  labor  and  improvements  has  not  been  expended  thereon 
within  one  year  from  the  date  of  such  location  and  yearly  thereafter. — [Dec.  2, 1874. 

When  a  patent  is  applied  for  on  a  re-located  mine  the  applicant  must  show  by 
prima  facie  evidence  that  it  is  subject  to  such  re-location  under  territorial  or  State 
laws,  where  such  laws  exist.— [Case  of  the  Santa  Rita  del  Cobre  Mine,  New  Mexico, 
April  15,  1873. 

Where  a  party  claims  a  lode  by  virtue  of  re-location  he  should  furnish  proof  that 
3nch  re-location  was  made  in  accordance  with  local  laws  or  regulations. — [Sept.  25, 
1873. 

See  ExPENDiTUEES,  8 ;  Location  ;  Tunnels,  7. 

ROCK  IN  PLACE, 

The  term  "rock  in  place,"  as  used  in  the  mining  statutes,  is  held  to  include  every 
class  of  claims  that  can  be  applied  for  as  a  "vein  or  lode." — [July  20,  1871. 

SCHOOL    LANDS. 
See  California.;  Nevada;  Sixteenth  and  Thirty-pixth  SECTiONa. 

SIXTEENTH   AND    THIRTY-SIXTH    SECTIONS. 

1.  An  application  having  been  made  for  a  patent  for  a  mining  claim  situated  in 
i  school  section  in  the  State  of  California,  the  question  was  r.aiscd  as  to  the  rights  of 
the  applicant,  in  view  of  the  grant  made  to  the  State  by  the  act  of  March  3,  1853. 
(U.  S.  Stat-.,  vol.  10,  page  24-1.)  It  being  satisfactorily  shown  that  the  mineral  claim 
in  question  was  taken  up,  held,  and  improved  according  to  local  customs  and  rules  in 
1804,  and  the  land  was  not  sui'veyed  by  the  United  States  until  1870,  it  was  ruled  that 
it  the  date  of  its  location  said  mining  premises  formed  a  part  of  the  unsurveycd  pub- 
lic domain,  which,  by  the  first  seciion  of  the  mining  statute  of  July  2G,  1866,  is 
declared  "  to  bo  free  and  open  to  exploration  and  occujDation  by  all  citizens  of  tbo 
United  States,  and  tho-e  who  have  declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens ; "  and 
that  as  the  appMcant  was  in  the  occupancy  of  his  claim  at  the  date  of  the  Government 
survey  of  the  towliship  by  virtue  of  the  authority  of  said  statute,  the  fact  that  the 
premises  fall  within  a  school  section,  which  circumstance  the  miner  had  no  means  of 
knowing  previous  to  the  survey,  did  not  affect  his  right  under  the  statute  of  July  23, 
186G,  and  that  after  complying  with  its  provisions  and  requirements  ho  would  be 
entitled  to  a  patent,  the  State  of  California  being  by  law  allowed  other  land  as  indem- 
nity for  the  area  so  patented.  — [l.auJ  OHice  Report,  1871,  p.  IG. 

2.  In  dealing  with  another  mineral  claim  situated  in  a  school  section  in  Califor- 
nia, the  location  of  which  was  not  made  until  after  the  filing  of  the  plat  of  the  official 
survey  of  the  township,  the  right  of  the  claimant  to  a  patent  under  the  mining  stat- 
ute was  denied,  the  land  having  already  passed  to  the  State ;  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  having  decided,  in  the  ca^e  of  Cooper  vs.  Roberts,  (18  Howard  173) 
that  mineral  lauda  pass  with  a  school  land-grant  to  the  State.— [Tliis  case  was  decided 
in  1867,  and  was  overruled  by  the  Keystone  case,  decided  June  18,  1872,  in  which 
Commissioner  Drumho'd  held  that  the  case  of  Cooper  vs.  Roberts  was  not  applica- 
ble to  California.] 


80  Digest  of  decisions. 


3.  The  case  of  tlie  Keystone  Mining  Co.  and  others  ■us.  tlie  State  of  California, 
involved  the  right  of  the  State  to  certain  mineral  lands  within  the  limits  of  sec- 
tion 3G,  granted  to  the  State  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  March  3,  1853,  granting 
sections  10  and  3G  for  school  purposes.  The  mining  companies  claimed  a  portion  of 
said  land  under  the  mining  act  of  July  26, 1866.  The  land  is  mineral  in  character, 
and  the  mines  were  located  in  1851  and  have  been  continuously  worked  since  that 
time.  The  survey  of  the  township  lines  was  completed  August  27, 1869,  and  the  sec- 
tion lines  run  March  10,  1870.  On  the  fourth  of  November,  1870,  the  State  of  Cal- 
ifornia sol-d  to  one  Henry  Casey  the  east  half  of  said  section  36,  whcT  presented  a 
claim  far  the  same.  The  local  ofBcers  rejected  the  title  of  the  State  and  their  decision 
was  afSrmed  by  Ihe  Commissioner.  The  claimant  under  the  State  appealed  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior.  It  was  conceded  by  all  parties  to  the  contest  that  each 
of  the  mining  companies  was  entitled  to  a  patent  for  the  lands  claimed  by  it, 
unless  the  title  for  said  half  section  vested  in  the  State  of  California  or  its  grantee 
under  the  act  of  March  3, 1853.  *****  The  principal  question 
at  issue  was  :  Does  the  grant  of  sections  16  and  36  include  mineral  lands?  The  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior  held  that  Congress  by  the  act  of  1853  did  not  grant  to  the  State 
any  mineral  lands  that  by  survey  are  shown  to  be  iu  sections  16  and  36,  and  that  the 
act  of  July  2i3,  1866,  provides  an  exclusive  method  for  appropriating  the  mineral 
lands  of  the  United  States.  No  siirveys  of  mineral  lands  were  authorized  or  made 
until  the  passage  of  the  Act  of  June  10, 1870.— [Decision  of  Secretary  Delano,  June 
18, 1872. 

SPEINGS. 
Where  a  party  has  possession  and  right  of  possession  to  salt  springs,  and  the 
deposit  of  salt  renders  the  land  more  valuable  on  this  account  than  for  agricultural 
purposes,  a  patent  for  such  lands  may  be  secured  under  the  mineral  laws. — [April  27, 
1874,  reversing  decision  of  July  28, 1873. 

The  General  Land-Office  does  not  regard  sulphur  springs  as  saline  or  mineral,  so 
as  to  come  within  the  inhibition  of  the  statutes  excluding  mineral  and  saline  lands 
from  pre-emption  entry  or  ticrip  location. — [Aug.  25.  1S69. 
See  Application  for  Patent. 

STAY  OF  PROCEEDINGS. 
See  Advekse  Claim,  37. 

SURVEY. 

1.  Courses  and  distances  must  give  way  when  in  conflict  with  fixed  objects. 
—[Opinion  of  Asst.  Atty.-Gen.,  July  15, 1873. 

2.  A  survey  must  be  made  of  the  entire  adverse  claim,  and  an  adverse  claimant 
cannot  color  a  portion  of  the  applicant's  survey  and  present  it  as  his  own  survey. 
-[Sept.  9,  1874. 

3.  The  survey  should  show  the  exterior  boundaries  of  the  claim  and  the  width 
should  not  exceed  the  amount  of  ground  allowed  by  local  laws  and  customs.— [Sept. 
11,  1873. 

4.  Where  a  survey  does  not  conform  to  the  legal  notice  no  patent  will  issue  until 
the  error  is  corrected. — [April  19,  1872. 

5.  Immediately  upon  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  publication  required  by 
law,  if  there  have  been  no  adverse  claim  filed,  the  claimant  shall  have  the  right  to 
apply  to  the  Surveyor-General  for  a  survey,  and  on  compliance  with  the  further  pro- 
visions of  the  la-w  will  be  entitled  to  patent.— [Dec.  16, 1872. 


DIGEST    OF  DECISIONS.  81 

G.  Lode  claims  embraced  in  one  application. — Where  several  lode  claims  are  em- 
braced in  one  application  for  patent,  each  tract  must  be  surveyed  separately,  notice 
posted  on  each  and  five  hundred  dollars  expended  on  each. 

7.  Error  in. — Where  any  material  error  occurs  in  the  survey  of  a  mining  claim, 
the  applicant  should  commence  de  novo  by  filing  with  the  local  land  officers  a  plat 
and  lield-notes,  and  publish  a  notice  accurately  describing  the  claim. — [April 
17,  1873. 

8.  Discrepancy. — Where  there  is  a  discrepancy  between  the  premises  described 
in  the  application  for  patent  and  that  embraced  in  the  final  survey,  proceedings 
should  be  commenced  de  novo. — [Nov.  10,  1871. 

See  Application  foe  Patent,  5,  9. 

SURVEYORS. 
A  deputy  mineral  surveyor  is  not  authorized  to  make  surveys  of  mineral  claims 
outside  of  the  State  or  district  for  which  he  is  appointed. — [Aug.  G,  1872. 

SUTRO  TUNNEL. 
See  CoMSTOCK  Lode. 

TIMBER. 

Surveyed  timber  lands  may  be  purchased  as  other  public  lands  under  the  pre- 
emption laws  or  by  commutation  under  the  homestead  laws.  The  pre-emption  or 
homestead  claimant  may  cut  siifQcicnt  timber  for  the  erection  of  his  buildings,  but 
not  for  other  purposes,  and  other  cutting  is  regarded  as  a  penal  offense.  It  is  held 
that  the  United  States,  as  owner  of  the  lands,  has  all  the  legal  means  of  protecting 
the  timber  which  individuals  enjoy  in  like  cases.  The  act  of  Congress  of  March  2, 
1831,  as  construed  by  the  Supremo  Court,  makes  the  depredating  on  such  timber  a 
criminal  offense,  punishable  with  fine  and  imprisonment.  When  reliable  informa- 
tion reaches  the  Registers  and  Receivers  that  spoliation  of  public  timber  is  commit- 
ted, their  instructions  require  them  to  investigate  the  matter,  to  seize  all  timber 
found  to  have  been  cut  -without  authority  on  the  public  land,  to  sell  the  same  to  the 
highest  bidder  at  public  auction,  and  deposit  the  proceeds  in  the  Treasury.  They 
are  to  bring  the  offense  committed  to  the  attention  of  the  proper  ofiScers,  that  the 
perpetrator  may  be  arrested  and  held  to  answer  as  usual  in  criminal  cases.  In  these 
proceedings,  however,  the  purpose  in  view  being  merely  to  protect  the  rights  of  the 
Government,  and  not  to  indulge  in  vindictive  prosecutions,  due  regard  is  had  to  the 
circumstances  of  each  case ;  and,  when  these  justify  so  doing,  the  district  officers 
are  authorized  to  compromise  with  the  parties,  on  their  paying  any  costs  incurred 
and  a  reasonable  stumpage  for  the  timber,  which  is  then  realized  and  prosecution 
waived.— [Laud-Office  Report,  1873,  p.  13 ;  1874,  p,  6. 

See  §§  3,  4,  Railroad  Act,  Appendix. 

TOWN  SITES. 
No  title  can  be  acquired  by  a  town  under  the  town-site  act  of  March  2,  l'^G7,  to 
any  mine  of  gold,  cinnabar  or  copper,  nor  to  any  vahd  mining  claim  or  possession 
held  under  the  existing  laws.— [Aug.  ID,  1872,  and  Jan.  21,  1873. 

See  Application-  fok  Patent,  It ;  Coal  Lands,  3,  6;  Entry  ;  Patent,  9. 

TUNNELS. 
1.    There  is  no  provision  of  law  for  patenting  tunnel  locations,  but  lodes  discov- 
ered in  running  a  tunnel  may  be  patented  in  like  manner  as  other  lodes.— [April  16, 
1873. 

6 


82  DIGEST   OF  DECISIONS. 

2.  The  right  is  granted  to  tunnel  owners  to  fifteen  Imndred  feet  of  each  blind 
lode,  not  previously  known  to  exist,  which  may  be  discovered  in  iheir  tunnel.— 
[Sept.  20, 1872. 

3.  The  "  line  of  a  tunnel "  is  the  width  thereof  and  no  more,  and  this  line  is 
required  to  be  marked  on  the  surface  by  stakes  or  monuments  placed  along  the  same 
from  the  face  or  point  of  commencement  to  the  terminus  of  the  tunnel  line. — [Sept. 
20,  1873. 

4.  Tunnel  owners  cannot  record  a  lode  discovered  by  them  in  running  a  tunnel 
which  will  absorb  the  actual  or  constructive  possession  of  other  parties  on  a  lode 
which  had  been  discovered  and  claimed  outside  the  line  of  the  tunnel  before  the  dis- 
covery thereof  in. the  tunnel [Sept.  20,  1872. 

5.  Prospecting  for  blind  lodes  is  prohibited  upon  the  line  of  a  located  tunnel 
■while  the  tunnel  is  in  progress,  but  other  parties  are  in  no  way  debarred  from  pros- 
pecting for  blind  lodes  or  running  tunnels,  so  long  as  they  keep  without  the  line  of 
such  tunnel [Sept.  20,  1872. 

6.  Expenditures  on. — Expenditures  made  in  running  a  tunnel  intended  for  the 
working  or  development  of  a  lode  or  lodes  is  not  tantamount  to  work  done  upon  a 
lode,  as  required  by  the  mining  law,  but  such  expenditure  or  labor  must  be  made 
upon  each  lode  claimed,  otherwise  the  same  will  be  subject  to  re-location.— [Aug. 
27, 1872,  and  Sept.  9,  1872. 

7.  No  specified  amount  is  required  to  be  expended  to  retain  the  ownership  of  a 
tunnel  location,  but  locators  are  required  to  use  reasonable  diligence,  and  failure  to 
prosecute  work  for  six  months  will  be  considered  as  an  abandonment. — [Aug.  1, 1873. 

8.  Some  differences  of  opinion  existed  among  parties  in  interest  as  to  the  correct 
construction  of  section  four  of  the  act  of  1872  [Sec.  2323  Rev.  Stats.],  and  it  was 
decided  by  this  ofBce,  in  response  to  certain  inquiries  on  the  subject,  that  the  line  of 
the  tunnel  is  the  width  thereof  and  no  more,  and  that  upon  this  line  only  is  prospect- 
ing for  blind  lodes  prohibited  while  the  working  of  the  tunnel  is  in  progress,  and  the 
right  is  granted  to  the  tunnel  owners  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  of  each  blind  lode,  not 
previously  known  to  exist,  which  may  be  discovered  in  such  tunnel,  but  that  other 
parties  are  in  no  way  debarred  from  prospecting  for  blind  lodes  or  running  tunnels 
so  long  as  they  keep  without  the  line  of  the  tunnel  as  herein  defined,  the  said  line 
being  required  by  regulations  to  be  marked  on  the  surface  by  stakes  or  monuments 
placed  along  the  same  from  the  face,  or  point  of  commencement,  to  the  terminus  of 
the  tunnel  line  aforesaid.  When  a  lode  is  struck  or  discovered  for  the  first  time  by 
running  a  tunnel,  the  tunnel  owners  have  the  option  of  recording  their  claim  of 
fifteen  hundred  feet  all  on  one  side  of  the  point  of  discovery  or  intersection  or  partly 
upon  one  or  partly  upon  the  other  side  thereof,  but  in  no  case  can  they  so  record  a 
claim  as  to  absorb  the  actual  or  constructive  claim  or  possession  of  the  other  parties 
on  a  lode  which  has  been  discovered  and  claimed  outside  the  line  of  the  tunnel  befor^ 
the  discovery  thereof  in  the  tunnel. — [Land  OflBce  Report,  1872  ;  p.  61. 

See  ExPENDiTnKES,  5,  8. 

VALUABLE    MINERAL   DEPOSITS. 

1.  Where  valuable  mineral  deposits  are  found  in  such  quantity  and  quality  as  to 
render  the  land  sought  to  be  patented  more  valuable  on  this  account  than  for  pur- 
poses of  agriculture,  the  tracts  containing  such  valuable  mineral  deposits  may  be 
patented  under  said  mining  act.  If,  however,  tlie  land  does  not  contain  valuable 
mineral  deposits  in  quality  and  quantity  sufficient  to  render  the  land  more  valuable 
on  this  account  than  for  purposes  of  agriculture,  it  cannot  be  patented  under  the 
mining  act,  except  in  the  case  of  mining  mill  sites,  which  must  t)*-^  'Kk-H'trrftJ  3r 
character.— [Land  Office  Report,  1874",  p.  64. 


DIGEST  OF  DECISIONS.  83 

2.  Diamonds  are  "valuable  mineral  deposits,"  and  the  provisions  of  the  act  of 
May  10,  1872,  are  applicable  to  lands  containing  them.— [Opinion  of  Atty-Gen. 
Williams,  Aug.  31, 1872. 

3.  Deposits  of  borax,  coal  or  iron  cannot  be  entered  as  agricultural  laud,  but 
must  be  entered  under  the  mining  laws  under  the  proceedings  required  in  cases  of 
placer  mines.— [April  18,  1873,  Nov.  1873,  and  May  25,  1847. 

4.  Deposits  of  roofing  slate  or  of  fire  clay  may  be  patented  under  the  mineral 
statutes.— [July  10, 1873,  and  Oct.  23, 1874. 

See  Agricultural  Lands,  8,  9, 10;  Coal  Lands,  4;  Iron;  Patent,  22^  23  ;  Springs. 

VEINS   OR  LODES. 

See  Coal  Lands,  6;   Entry;  Expenditures,  9-12  ;  Location,  1,  5  ;   Patent,  21 ; 
Re-location  ;  Eock  in  Place  ;  Tunnels,  6-8. 

VERIFICATION. 

See  Affidavit. 

WATER  RIGHTS, 

In  disposing  of  public  lands  upon  which  water  rights  have  vested  and  accrued  by 
priority  of  possession,  and  which  at  the  time  of  such  disposal  are  recognized  and 
acknowledged  by  local  customs,  laws,  and  decisions  of  the  courts,  the  United  States 
will,  under  the  ninth  section  of  the  act  of  July  2G,  1866,  [Sec.  2339  Revised  Statutes] 
maintain  and  protect  such  rights [Nov.  23,  1869. 

[For  judicial  decisions  upon  section  2339,  relating  to  water  rights,  see  Gallagher  vs. 
Basey,  1  Montana  Reports,  457  ;  Woolmau'us.  Garriuger,  id.  535  ;  Atchison  vs.  Peter- 
son, id.  561 ;  and  opinions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  Basey  vs.  Gal- 
lagher, 2  Am.ei'ican  Law  Times,  N.  S.  144,  for  March  and  April,  1875  ;  and  Atchison  vs. 
Peterson,  9  Pacific  Law  Reporter,  25,  January  26, 1875  ;  also  Union  Mil^  and  Mining 
Co.  vs.  Dangberg  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  of  Nevada,  2  Sawyer's  Reports  450 

See  Patent,  20;  also  Ii^tendix. 

WITNESSES. 

The  law  provides  no  compulsory  process  to  secure  the  attendance  of  witnesses 
before  Registers  and  Receivers.— (Aug.  15, 1868, 


APPENDIX.  85 


APPENDIX. 


Water  Eights  in  California. 

[Title  VIII  of  the  Civil  Code  of  California.] 

§  1410.  The  right  to  the  use  of  running  water  flowing  in  a  river  or  stream  or  down 
a  canon  or  ravine  may  be  acquired  by  appropriation. 

§  1411.  The  appropriation  must  be  for  some  useful  or  beneficial  purpose,  and 
when  the  appropriator  or  his  successor  in  interest  ceases  to  use  it  for  such  a  pui'pose, 
the  right  ceases. 

§  1412.  The  person  entitled  to  the  use  may  change  the  place  of  diversion,  if 
others  are  not  injured  by  such  change,  and  may  extend  the  ditch,  flume,  pipe,  or 
aqueduct  by  which  the  diversion  is  made  to  places  beyond  that  where  the  first  use 
was  made. 

$  1413.  The  water  appropriated  may  be  turned  into  the  channel  of  another 
stream  and  mingled  with  its  water,  and  then  reclaimed ;  but  in  reclaiming  it  the 
water  alread}'  appropriated  by  another  must  not  be  diminished. 

§  1414.    As  between  appropriators,  the  one  first  in  time  is  the  first  in  right. 

§  141.5.  A  person  desiring  to  appropriate  water  must  post  a  notice,  in  writing,  in 
a  conspicuous  place  at  the  point  of  intended  diversion,  stating  therein : 

1.  That  he  claims  the  water  there  flowing  to  the  extent  of  [giving  the  number] 
inches,  measured  under  a  four-inch  pressure  ; 

2.  The  purposes  for  which  he  claims  it,  and  the  place  of  intended  use ; 

3.  The  means  by  which  he  intends  to  divert  it,  and  the  size  of  the  flume,  ditch, 
pipe,  or  aqueduct  in  which  he  intends  to  divert  it ; 

A  copy  of  the  notice  must,  within  ten  days  after  it  is  posted,  be  recorded  in 
the  office  of  tlie  Recorder  of  the  county  in  which  it  is  posted. 

§  1416.  Within  sixty  days  after  the  notice  is  posted,  the  claimant  must  commence 
the  excavation  or  construction  of  the  works  in  which  he  intends  to  divert  the  water, 
and  must  prosecute  the  work  diligently  and  uninterruptedly  to  completion,  unless 
temporarily  interrupted  by  snow  or  rain. 

§  1417.  By  "  completion  "  is  meant  conducting  the  waters  to  the  place  of  in- 
tended use. 

§  1418.  By  a  compliance  with  the  above  rules  the  claimant's  right  to  the  use  of 
the  water  relates  back  to  the  time  the  notice  was  posted. 

§  1419.  A  failure  to  comply  with  such  rules  deprives  the  claimants  of  the  right  to 
the  use  of  the  water  as  against  a  subsequent  claimant  who  complies  therewith. 

§  1420.  Persons  who  have  heretofore  claimed  the  right  to  water,  and  who  have 
not  constructed  works  in  which  to  divert  it,  and  who  have  not  diverted  nor  applied 
it  to  some  useful  purpose,  must,  after  this  title  takes  effect,  and  within  twenty  days 
thereafter,  proceed  as  in  this  Title  provided,  or  their  riglit  ceases. 

§  1421.  The  Recorder  of  each  county  must  keep  a  book,  in  which  he  must  record 
the  notices  provided  for  in  this  Title. 

§  1422.  The  rights  of  riparian  proprietors  are  not  affected  by  the  provisions  of 
this  Title. 


Mineral  Lands  on  School  Sections  in  California. 

An  act  regulating  the  sale  of  mineral  lands  liolonging  to  the  State  of  California.— [-4/>- 
jjroced  March  28,  1^74. 

Section  1.  Any  person  desiring  to  purchase  from  this  State  any  portion  of  any 
sixteenth  or  thirty-sixth  section,  that  shall  liave  been  designated  by  United  States 
survey  as  of  a  mmeral  character,  or  which  is  so  in  fact,  shall  make  an  afDdavit  before 
some  officer  authorized  to  administer  oaths,  that  he  or  she  is  a  citizen  of  the  United 


86  APPENDIX. 

States,  or,  if  a  foreigner,  that  he  has  filed  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  ;  that  he  or  she  is  of  lawful  age,  and  desires  to  purchase  said  land,  giving 
a  description  thereof  by  legal  subdivisions  ;  that  he  or  she  has  not  entered  any  portion 
of  such  mineral  lands  which,  together  with  that  applied  for  in  such  affidavit,  will 
exceed  forty  acres;  that  there  is  no  occupation  of  said  land  adverse  to  that  which  he 
or  she  holds ;  or,  if  there  be  any  adverse  occupation  thereof,  then  he  or  she  must 
state  the  iiame  of  such  adverse  occupant,  together  with  the  fact  that  the  plat  of  the 
township  has  been  on  file  six  months  or  over,  and  that  such  adverse  occupant  has 
been  in  such  occupation  six  months  or  over. 

Sec.  2.  Any  person  that  shall  be  in  the  actual  possession  of  any  of  said  lands 
described  in  section  one,  at  the  time  of  the  survey  thereof  by  the  United  States,  or 
at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  this  act,  shall  be  considered  a  preferred  purchaser 
thereof;  provided,  he  or  she  make  his  or  her  application  for  the  purchase  of  the  same 
within  six  months  after  the  filing  of  the  plat  of  such  survey  in  the  United  States  Land 
Office,  or  within  ten  months  after  the  passage  of  this  act. 

Sec.  3.  When  a  contest  shall  arise  as  to  the  mineral  character  of  the  lands 
applied  for,  or  from  any  other  cause,  the  Surveyor-General,  or  the  Register  before 
whom  the  contest  is  made,  must,  within  thirty  days  after  the  adverse  application  is 
filed,  unless  sooner  referred  at  the  request  of  either  claimant,  make  an  order  refer- 
ring such  contest  to  the  District  Court  of  the  county  within  which  the  land  is  situated, 
and  must  enter  such  order  in  the  proper  book  of  said  office,  and  forward  a  copy 
thereof  to  the  clerk  of  the  court  to  which  the  reference  is  made.  Upon  the  filing  of 
a  copy  of  such  order  with  the  clerk  of  the  court,  either  party  may  commence  an 
action  in  said  court  to  determine  the  conflict,  and  the  coiu't  shall  have  full  and  com- 
plete jurisdiction  to  hear  and  determine  the  same.  Unless  an  action  shall  be  com- 
menced within  ninety  days  after  the  copy  of  the  order  of  reference  shall  have  been 
filed  with  the  clerk  of  the  court,  the  party  making  such  demand,  or  the  adverse 
claimant,  if  the  case  is  referred  without  demand,  shall  be  deemed  to  have  waived  and 
surrendered  his  or  her  right  to  purchase,  and  the  Surveyor-General  or  Register  shall 
proceed  as  though  his  or  her  apphcation  had  not  been  made. 

Sec.  4.  All  lands  sold  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  sold  for  the  sum 
of  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  acre,  in  United  States  gold  coin,  payable  to  the 
Treasurer  of  the  county  in  which  the  lands  are  situated,  within  fifty  days  from  the 
date  of  the  approval  by  the  Surveyor-General ;  and  in  case  said  payment  is  not  made 
within  said  fifty  days,  the  land  described  in  the  location  shall  revert  to  the  State  with- 
out suit,  and  said  location  shall  be  and  become  null  and  void.  All  payments  made  ta 
the  County  Treasurer  as  above  provided,  shall  be  paid  over  and  accounted  for  as 
other  moneys  received  for  State  lands  are  required  to  be  paid  over  and  accounted  for. 

Sec.  5.  The  Surveyor-General  and  Register  shall,  in  the  matter  of  approving 
locations,  issuing  certificates  of  purchase  or  patents,  or  in  other  proceedings  relating 
to' the  sale  of  lands  of  a  mineral  character,  which  proceedings  are  not  provided  for  in 
this  act,  proceed  in  the  same  manner  as  is  now  provided  for  the  sale  of  sixteenth  and 
thirty-sixth  sections  which  are  not  of  a  mmeral  character. 

Sec.  6.  All  patents  issued  by  the  State  to  any  portion  of  any  sixteenth  or  thirty- 
sixth  section  shall  be  subject  to  any  vested  and  accrued  water  rights,  ditches,  and 
reservoirs  used  in  connection  therewith,  acquired  by  priority  of  possession  under 
local  customs  and  the  decisions  of  the  courts,  and  the  right  of  way  for  the  construc- 
tion of  ditches  and  canals  for  mining  and  other  purposes,  over  all  of  the  sixteenth 
and  thirty-sixth  sections  owned  by  the  State,  is  hereby  granted  and  confirmed. 

Sec.  7.  After  the  passage  of  this  act,  no  patent  shall  be  issued  by  the  State  for 
any  of  the  lands  described  in  this  act,  upon  which,  at  the  time  of  the  application 
therefor,  there  was,  and  still  is,  any  actual  bona  fide  mining  claim,  except  to  the  per- 
son who  is  the  owner  of  such  mining  claim,  under  local  mining  customs,  and  not  to 
such  owner  in  excess  of  forty  acres ;  and  when  an  applicant  for  such  lands,  not  own- 


APPENDIX,  87 


ing  sucli  mining  claim,  shall  have  paid  the  purchase  money  therefor,  in  whole  or  in 
part,  he  may  present  his  certificate  of  purchase,  and  receive  in  exchange  therefor 
from  the  Register  a  certificate  showing  the  whole  amount  paid  ;  and  the  Controller, 
upon  the  surrender  of  such  certificate,  must  draw  his  warrant  in  favor  of  the  person 
surrendering  such  certificate,  for  the  amount  therein  specified,  on  the  Treasurer  of 
State,  who  must  pay  the  same  out  of  the  fund  into  which  the  purchase  money  was 
paid;  provided,  that  the  owner  of  such  mining  claim,  under  such  mining  customs, 
shall  apply  to  purchase  the  same  within  six  months  after  the  plat  of  the  township 
contaioing  such  laud  shall  have  been  filed  in  the  local  United  States  Land-Office,  or 
■within  ten  months  after  the  passage  of  this  act;  a7id,  provided  further,  th&t  any 
owner  of  a  bona  fide  mining  claim,  who  shall  have  entered  into  an  agreement  with 
the  applicant  for  any  portion  of  the  sixteenth  or  thirty-sixth  section,  upon  which  said 
mining  claim  is  situated,  for  the  procurement  of  a  title  for  the  same,  sliall  not  avail 
himself  of  the  provisions  of  this  section.  The  Governor  of  this  State  shall  not  sigQ 
any  patent  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

Sec.  8.    All  acts  and  parts  of  acts  in  conflict  with  this  act  are  hereby  repealed. 

Sec.  9.    This  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage. 


Sutro  Tunnel  Act. 

An  Act  granting  to  A.  Sutro  the  right  of  way.  and  granting  other  privileges  to  aid  in 
the  construction  of  a  draining  and  exploring  tunnel  to  the  Comstock  Lode,  in 
the  State  of  Nevada. — [A2)proved  Julj  25,  18G6 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Eepresentatives  of  the  ZPniied  States  of 
America  in  Congress  assembled,  That,  for  the  purpose  of  the  construction  of  a  deed 
draining  and  exploring  tunnel  to  and  beyond  the  ' '  Comstock  Lode,"  so  called,  in  the 
State  of  Nevada,  the  right  of  way  is  hei'eby  granted  to  A.  Sutro,  bis  heirs  and  assigns, 
to  run,  consti'uct,  and  excavate  a  mining,  draining,  and  exploring  tunnel ;  also  to 
sink  mining,  working,  or  air  shafts  along  the  line  or  course  of  said  tunnel,  and  con- 
necting with  the  same  at  any  point  which  may  hereafter  be  selected  by  the  grantee 
herein ,  his  heirs  or  assigns.  The  said  tunnel  shall  be  at  least  eight  feet  high  and 
eight  feet  wide,  and  shall  commence  at  some  point  to  bo  selected  by  the  grantee 
herein,  his  heirs  or  assigns,  at  the  hills  near  Carson  Piiver,  and  within  the  boinidaries 
of  Lyon  County,  and  extending  from  said  initial  point  in  a  westerly  direction  seven 
miles,  more  or  less,  to  and  beyond  said  Comstock  Lode ;  and  the  same  right  of  way 
shall  extend  northerly  and  southerly  on  the  course  of  said  lode,  either  within  the 
same,  or  east  or  west  of  the  same  ;  and  also  on  or  along  any  other  lode  which  may  be 
discovered  or  developed  by  the  said  tunnel. 

Sec.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  right  is  hereby  granted  to  the  said 
A.  Sutro,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  to  purcha.se,  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per 
acre,  a  sufficient  amount  of  public  land  near  the  mouth  of  said  tunnel  for  the  use  of 
the  same,  not  exceeding  two  sections,  and  such  land  shall  not  be  mineral  land,  or  iu 
the  bona  fide  possession  of  other  persons  who  chum  under  any  law  of  Congi'css  at  the 
time  of  the  passage  of  this  act,  and  all  minerals  existing  or  which  shall  be  dLscovered 
therein  are  excepted  from  this  grant ;  that  upon  filing  a  plat  of  said  land  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  shall  withdraw  the  same  from  sale,  and  upon  payment  for  the 
same  a  patent  shall  issue.  And  the  said  A.  Sutro,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  arc  hereby 
granted  the  right  to  purchase,  at  five  dollars  per  acre,  such  mineral  veins  and  lodes 
within  two  thousand  feet  on  each  side  of  said  tunnel  as  shall  bo  cut,  discovered,  or 
developed  by  running  and  constructing  the  same,  through  its  entire  extent,  witli  all 
the  dips,  spurs,  and  angles  of  sucli  lodes,  subject,  however,  to  the  provisions  of  this 
act,  and  to  such  legislation  as  Congress  may  hereafter  provide  :  Prodded,  That  the 
Comstock  Lode  with  its  dips,  spurs,  and  angles,  is  exccjited  from  this  grant,  and  all 
other  lodes,  with  their  dips,  spurs,  and  angles,  located  within  the  said  two  thousand 
feet,  and  which  are  or  may  be,  at  the  passage  of  this  act,  in  the  actual  bona  fido  pos 


88  APPENDIX. 

session  of  othex-  persons,  are  hereby  excepted  from  sucli  grant.  And  the  lodes  herein 
excepted,  other  than  the  Comstock  Lode,  shall  be  withheld  from  sale  by  the  United 
States ;  and  if  such  lodes  shall  be  abandoned  or  not  worked,  possessed,  and  held  in 
conformity  to  existing  mining  rules,  or  such  regulations  as  have  been  or  may  be  pre- 
scribed by  the  Legislature  of  Nevada,  they  shall  become  subject  to  such  right  of  pur- 
chase by  the  grantee  herein,  his  heirs  cr  assigus. 

Sec.  3.  And  he  it  further  enacted.  That  all  persons,  companies,  or  corporations 
owning  claiiils  or  mines  on  said  Comstock  Lode  or  any  other  lode  drained,  benefited 
or  developed  by  said  tunnel,  shall  hold  their  claims  subject  to  the  condition  (which 
shall  be  expressed  in  any  gi-ant  they  may  hereafter  obtain  from  the  United  States,) 
that  they  shall  contribute  and  pay  to  the  owners  of  said  tunnel  the  same  rate  o^ 
charges  lor  draining  or  other  benefits  derived  from  said  tunnel  or  its  branches,  as 
have  been,  or  may  hereafter  be,  named  in  agreement  between  such  owners  and  the 
companies  representing  a  majority  of  the  estimated  value  of  said  Comstock  Lode  at 
the  time  of  the  passage  of  this  act. 


Extracts  from  Eailroad  Act. 

An  Act  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  a  railroad  and  telegi-aph  line  from  the  Missouri 

Eiver  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  to  secure  to  the  Government  the  use  of  the 

same  for  postal,  military,  and  other  purposes. — [Approved  July  1,  1862. 

Section  three  of  said  act,  as  amended  by  the  act  of  July  2, 186i,  reads  as  follows  : 

Sec.  3.    And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  be,  and  is  hereby,  gi-anted  to  said 

company,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  the  construction  of  said  railroad  and  telegi'aph 

line,  and  to  secu.re  the  safe  and  speedy  transportation  of  the  mails,  troops,  munitions 

of  war,  and  public  stores  thereon,  every  alternate  section  of  public  land  designated 

by  odd  numbers,  to  the  amount  of  ten  alternate  sections  per  mile  on  each  side  of  said 

railroad,  on  the  line  thereof,  and  within  the  limits  of  twenty  miles  on  each  side  of 

said  I'oad,  not  sold,  resei-ved,  or  otherwise  disposed  of  by  the  United  States,  and  to 

which  a  pre-emption  or  homestead  claim  may  not  have  attached,  at  the  time  the  line 

of  said  road  is  definitely  fixed:  Froxsidtd,  That  all  mineral  lands  shall  be  excepted 

from  the  operation  of  this  act ;  but  where  the  same  shall  contain  timber,  the  timber 

thereon  is  hereby  granted  to  said  company.    And  all  such  lands,  so  granted  by  this 

section,  which  shall  not  be  sold  oi-  disposed  of  by  said  company  within  three  years 

after  the  entire  road  shall  have  been  completed,  shall  be  subject  to  settlement  and 

pre-emption,  like  other  lands,  at  a  price  not  exceeding  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 

cents  per  acre,  to  be  paid  to  said  company. 

An  Act  to  amend  an  act  entitled  '  'An  act  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  a  railroad  and 
telegi'aph  line  from  the  Missouri  Biver  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,"  etc.  *  * 

approved  July  first,  eighteen  hundfed  and  sixty-two. — {Approved  July  2, 1864. 
Section  four  of  the  above  act  read  as  follows :         *         *         *         *  "And 

the  term  '  mineral  land,'  wherever  tlie  same  occurs  in  this  act,  and  the  act  to 
which  this  is  an  ame-^idment,  shall  not  be  construed  to  include  coal  and  iron  land. 
And  any  lands  gi'anted  by  this  act,  or  the  act  to  which  this  is  an  amendment,  shall 
not  defeat  or  impair  any  pre-emption,  homestead,  swamp  land,  or  other  lawful  claim, 
nor  include  any  Governmeut  reservaiion  or  mineral  lands,  or  the  improvements  of 
any  bona  fide  settler  or  [on]  any  lauds  returned  and  denominated  as  mineral  lands, 
and  the  timber  necessary  to  support  his  said  improvements  as  a  miner,  or  agricultur- 
alist, to  be  ascertained  under  such  rules  as  have  been  or  may  be  established  by  the 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the 
pre-emption  laws :  Prozided,  That  the  quantity  thus  exempted  by  the  operation  of 
this  act,  and  the  act  to  which  this  act  is  an  amendment,  shall  not  exceed  one  hund- 
red and  sixty  acres  for  each  settler  who  claims  as  an  agriculturist,  and  such  quan- 
tity for  each  settler  who  claims  as  a  miner,  as  the  said  commissioner  may  establish 
by  general  regulation:  Provided ,  also,  That  the  phrase  '  but  where  the  same  shall 
contain  timber,  the  timber  thereon  is  hereby  granted  to  said  company,'  in  the  j^ro- 
viso  to  said  section  three,  shall  not  apply  to  the  timber  growing  or  being  on  any  land 
farther  than  tea  miles  from  the  centre  line  of  any  one  of  said  roads  or  branches  men- 
tioned in  said  act,  or  in  this  act.  And  all  lands  shall  be  esclttded  from  the  operation 
of  this  act,  and  of  the  act  to  which  this  act  is  an  amendment,  which  were  located,  or 
selected  to  be  located,  under  the  provisions  of  an  act  entitled  *An  act  donating  lands 
to  the  several  States  and  territories  which  may  provide  colleges  for  the  benefit  of 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,'  approved  July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-two,  and  notice  thereof  given  at  tlie  proper  land  office." 


APPENDIX.  89 


Forms  under  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States. 

Form    A. 

NOTICE   OF   LOCATION. 
Notice  is  hereby  given  that  the  undersigned,  having  complied  with  the  require- 
ments of  Chapter  Six  of  Title  Thirty-two  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States, 

and  the  local  customs,  laws  and  regulations,  has  located  linear  feet  on  the 

lode  [twenty  acres  of  placer  mining  ground],  situated  in  Mining  Dis- 
trict,    County, ,  and  described  as  follows : 

[Describe  the  claim  accurately,  by  courses  and  distances,  if  possible  ;  if  a  placer 
claim  is  located  on  surveyed  land,  by  legal  subdivision.  \ 

,  Locator. 

Located 1S7-.  Recorded 1S7-. 


County  of 


and ,  each  for  himself,  and  not  one  for  the  other,  being  first  duly 

sworn,  deposes  and  says,  that  he  is  of  lawful  age,  and  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  ; 

that  he  has  read  the  notice  of  location  of feet  on  the  lode,  by ; 

that  the  description  of  said  lode,  viz : 

[  Give  description.'] 

as  therein  given  is  true  and  correct;  that  the  said has,  in  every  respect,  fully 

complied  with  the  requirements  of  Chapter  Six  of  Title  Thirty-two  of  The  Revised 
Statutes  of  the  United  States,  and  the  local  customs  and  laws  regulating  mining  loca- 
tions. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this  day  of ,  A.  D.  IS"-,  and  I 

hereby  certify  that  I  consider  the  said and credible  and  reliable  persons. 

[seal.]  , 

Notary  PubUc  (or  other  officer  using  a  seal). 


Form  B. 

APPLICATION    TO    UNITED    STATES    SURVETOK-GENEBAIi    FOR    SUEVEY    OF 

MINING   CLAIM. 

,  187-. 

To ,  United  States  Surveyor-General  for : 

Sir — In  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  Chapter  Six  of  Title  Thirty-two  of  The 

Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States, herewith  make  application  for  an  official 

survey  of  the  raining  claim  known  as  the mine,  claimed  by ,  located  in 

Mining  District,  in  the  County  of ,  Township  No. ,  Range  No. 

, base  and  meridian,  in  the  State  of  California  ;  and request  that 

you  will  send  to address  an  estimate  of  the  amount  to  be  deposited,  in  cur- 
rency, for  the  work  to  be  done  in  your  office  ;  and  that  after  such  deposit  shall  have 

been  made,  you  will  cause  the  said  mining  claim  to  be  surveyed  by ,  United 

States  Deputy  Surveyor,  and  you  will  cause  to  be  made  a  plat  thereof,  indorsed  with 
your  approval,  designating  the  number  and  description  of  the  location,  and  the  value 
of  the  labor  and  improvements  on  said  mining  claim ;  and  that  you  will  transmit 
duplicate  copies  of  said  plat  to  applicant,  together  with  a  certifiad  copy  of  the  field- 
notes  of  survey  of  said  mining  claim. 

The  expenses  of  office  work, dollars, herewith  tender,  and  request 

that  prompt  action  be  taken  herein.  ,  Claimant. 

The  maiority  of  thoso  forms  aro  insortod  by  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  L.  13ancrof< 
k  Co.,  who  piiblifh  tho  corresponding  blanks  prepared  by  Mr.  UknryN.  Copf,  of  the 
Departiut  nt  of  tho  Interior,  and  lirst  ussued  in  his  "U.  S.  Alining  Decisions." 

Tho  printed  blanks  aro  sold  by  tho  publishers,  and  all  booksellers  and  stationers. 


90  APPENDIX. 


Form  C. 

APPLICATION   FOR  PATENT. 
,  County  of ,  ss. 

APPLICATION   FOR   PATENT   FOR  THE MINING   CLAIM. 

To  the  Register  and  Beoeiver  of  the  U.  S.  Land  Office  at . 

,  lieing  duly  sworn  according  to  law,  deposes  and  says,  that  in  virtue  of  a 


compliance  with  the  mining  rules,  regulations  and  customs,  by  himself,  the  said 

and  his  co-claimants, ,  applicants  for  patent  herein  ha—  become  the  owner 

of  and  are  in  the  actual,  quiet  and  undisturbed  possession  of linear  feet  of  the 

vein,  lode  or  deposit,  bearing together  with  surface  ground feet  in 

width,  for  the  convenient  working  thereof  as  allowed  by  local  rules  and  customs  of 
miners;  said  mineral  claim,  vein,  lode  or  deposit  and  surface  ground  being  situate  in 

the mining  district.  County  of and  of and  being  more  particularly 

set  forth  and  described  in  the  official  field  notes  of  survey  thereof,  hereto  attached, 

dated day  of A.  D.  187-,  and  in  the  official  plat  of  said  survey,  now 

posted  conspicuously  upon  said  mining  claim  or  premises,  a  copy  of  which  is  filed 
herewith.  Deponent  further  states  that  the  facts  relative  to  the  right  of  possession 
of  himself  (and  his  said  co-claimants  hereinbefore  named)  to  said  mining  claim,  vein, 
lode  or  deposit  and  surface  ground,  so  surveyed  and  platted,  are  substantially  as 
follows,  to  wit : 

IDescripiion  of  claim.] 

Which  will  more  fully  appear  by  reference  to  the  copy  of  the  original  record  of 
location  and  the  abstract  of  title  hereto  attached  and  made  a  part  of  this  affidavit ; 
the  value  of  the  labor  done  and  improvements  made  upon  said claim,  by  him- 
self and  his  grantors,  being  equal  to  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  in  gold  coin  of 
the  United  States.  In  consideration  of  which  facts,  and  in  conformity  with  the  pro- 
visions of  Chapter  Six  of  Title  Thirty-two  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United 

States,  application  is  hereby  made  for  and  in  behalf  of  said for  a  patent  from 

the  Government  of  the  United  States  for  the  said  mining  claim,  vein,  lode, 

deposit  and  the  surface  ground  so  officially  surveyed  and  platted. 


Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this day  of A.  D.  Iis7- ;   and  I 

hereby  certify  that  I  consider  the  above  deponent  a  credible  and  reliable  person,  and 
that  the  foregoing  affidavit  to  which  was  attached  the  field  notes  of  survey  of  the 

mining  claim  was  read  and  examined  by  him  before  his  signature  was  affixed 

thereto  and  the  oath  made  by  him. 
[seal.] 

\_The  above  is  slightly  changed  in  applging  for  placer  mines.] 


Form  D. 

PEOOP   OF  POSTING  NOTICE   AND  DIAGRAM  OF  THE   CLAIM. 

of ,  County  of ,  ss. 

and  ,  each  for  himself,  and  not  one  for  the  other,  being  first  duly 

sworn  according  to  law,  deposes  and  says,  that  he  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 

over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  was  present  on  the day  of ,  A.D. 

187-,  when  a  plat  representing  the and  certified  to  as  correct  by  the  United 

States  Surveyor-General  of ,  together  with  a  notice  of  the  intention  of  — 

and to  apply  for  a  patent  for  the  mining  claim  and  premises  so  platted,  was 

posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  upon  said  mining  claim,  to-wit:  upon  ,  where 

the  same  could  be  easily  seen  and  examined ;  the  notice  so  conspicuously  posted 
upon  said  claim  being  in  words  and  figures  as  follows,  to-wit : 


APPFNDIX.  91 


LEGAL  NOTICE  OF  THE  APPLICATION  OF  AND FOR  A  UNITED  STATES  PATENT. 

Notice  is  hereby  given  that  in  pursuance  of  Chapter  Six  of  Title  Thirty-two  of  the 

Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States, and ,  claiming linear  feet 

of  the vein,  lode  or  mineral  deposit,  bearing ,  with  surface  ground  

feet  in  width, 'lying  and  being  situate  within  the  Mining  District,  County  of 

,  and of ,  has  made  application  to  the  United  States  for  a  patent 

for  the  said  mining  claim,  which  is  more  fully  described  as  to  metes  and  bounds  by 
the  oflBcial  plat  herewith  posted  and  by  the  field-notes  of  survey  thereof,  now  filed  in 

the  oflice  of  the  Register  of  the  District  of  Lands,  subject  to  sale  at ,  which 

field-notes  of  survey  describe  the  boundaries  and  extent  of  said  claim  on  the  surface, 

with  magnetic  variation  at east,  as  follows,  to-wit: 

[Full  description  by  courses  and  distances.  J 

the  said  mining  claim  being  of  record  in  the  office  of  the  Recorder  of ,  at , 

in  the  county  and aforesaid,  the  presumed  general  course  or  direction  of  the 

said vein,  lode  or  mineral  deposit  being  shown  upon  the  plat  posted  herewith, 

as  near  as  can  be  determined  from  present  developments,  this  claim  being  for 

linear  feet  thereof,  together  with  the  surface  ground  shown  upon  the  ofBsial  plat 
posted  herewith,  the  said  vein,  lode  and  mining  premises  hereby  sought  to  be  pat- 
ented being  bounded  on  the by  the mining  claim,  the  said •  claim. 

being  designated  as  Lot  No, in  the  official  plat  posted  herewith. 

Any  and  all  persons  claiming  adversely  the  mining  ground,  vein,  lode,  premises 
or  any  portion  thereof  so  described,  surveyed,  platted  and  applied  for,  are  hereby 
notified  that  unless  their  adverse  claims  are  duly  filed  as  according  to  law  and  the 
regulations  thereunder  within  sixty  days  from  the  date  hereof  with  the  Register  of 

the  United  States  Land  Office  at ,  in  the of ,  they  will  be  barred, 

in  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  said  statute. 

Dated  on  the  ground  this day  of ,  A.  D.  187-. 

Witness : 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this  day  of ,  A.  D.  187-,  and  I 

hereby  certify  that  I  consider  the  above  deponents  credible  and  reliable  witnesses, 
and  that  the  foregoing  affidavit  and  notice  was  read  by  each  of  them  before  their 
signatures  were  affixed  thereto  and  the  oath  made  by  them. 


Form  E. 

PKOOP  THAT    PLAT    AND    NOTICE    EEMAINED    POSTED    ON    CliAIM  DUBING 
TIME   OF   PUBLICATION. 


of County  of ,  ss. 

-,  being  first  duly  sworn  according  to  law,  deposes  and  says,  that  he  is  claim- 


ant (and  co-owner  with )  in  the  mining  claim, mining  district, 

County, ,  the  official  plat  of  which  premises,  together  with  the  notice  of 

intention  to  apply  for  a  patent  therefor  was  posted  thereon,  on  the day  of 

• ,  A.  D.  187-,  as  fully  set  forth  and  described  in  the  affidavit  of and 

dated  the day  of A.  D.  IS"-,  which  affidavit  was  duly  filed  in  the  office 

of  the  Register,  at in  this  case  ;  and  tliat  the  plat  and  notice  so  mentioned  and 

desbribed,  remained  continuously  and  conspicuously  posted  upon  said  niiniu;;  claim 

from  the day  of A.  1).  1^7-,  until  and  including  the day  of 

A.  D.  1S7-,  including  the  sixty  days  i)eriod  during  which  notice  of  said  applica- 
tion for  patent  was  published  in  the  newspaper. 


92  APPENDIX. 


Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  tliis  day  of ,  A.  D.  187-,  and  I 

hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  affidavit  was  read  to  the  said previous  to  his 

name  being  subscribed  thereto ;  and  that  deponent  is  a  respectable  person  to  whose 
affidavit  full  faith  and  credit  should  be  given. 

[seal.]  ,  Notary  Public. 


Foiin  F. 

EEGISTEE'S  CEKTIFICATE   of  posting  notice  FOK   sixty  DATS. 

United  States  Land  Office,  at , ,  187-. 

I  hereby  certify  that  the  official  plat  of  the lode  was  tiled  in  this  office  on 

the day  of ,  A.  D.  1S7-,  and  that  the  attached  notice  of  the  intention  of 

to  apply  for  a  patent  for  the  mining  claim  or  premises  embraced  by  said  plat, 

and  described  in  the  field-notes  of  survey  thereof  filed  in  said  application,  was  posted 

conspicuously  in  this  office  on  the day  of ,  A.  D.  1S7-,  and  remained  so 

posted  until  the day  of ,  A.  D.  187-,  being  the  lull  period  of  sixty  con- 
secutive days,  as  required  by  law ;  and  that  said  plat  remained  in  this  office  during 
that  time,  subject  to  examination,  and  that  no  adverse  claim  thereto  has  been  filed. 

,  Register. 

IThe  notice  posted  in  the  office  should  be  attached  to  this  certificate.^ 


Form  G. 

AGEEEMENT   OF  PUBLISHEE, 

The  undersigned,  publisher  and  proprietor  of  the  ,  a  newspaper, 

published  at ,  County  of ,  and of ,  do  hereby  agree  to  pub- 
lish a  notice,  dated  United  States  Land  Office, ,  required  by  Chapter  Six  of 

Title  Thirty-two  of  the  Picvised  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  of  the  intention  of 

to  apply  for  a  patent  for  his  claim  on  the lode,  situated  in Mining 

District,  County  of ,  of ,  and  to  hold  the  said alone  responsible 

for  the  amount  due  for  publishing  the  same.  And  it  is  hereby  expressly  stipulated 
and  agreed  that  no  claim  shall  be  made  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
or  its  officers  or  agents,  foT  such  publication. 

Witness  my  han(J.and  seal  this day  of ,  A.  D.  1S7-. 

Witness : 


Form  H. 

PEOOF  OF  PrrBIilCATION. 
. of ,  County  of ,  ss. 

Reprinted  copy  of      | being  first  duly  sworn  deposes  and  says,  that  he  is 

Notice  of  Application,    f  the  • of  the ,  a  newspaper  published  at ,  in 

County,  in  the of ;  that  the  notice  of  the  application  for  a  patent 

for  the mining  claims,  of  which  a  copy  is  hereto  attached,  was  first  published 

in  said  newspaper,  in  its  issue  dated  the of 187-,  and  was  published  in 

each  [daily  or  weekly]  issue  of  said  newspaper  for  [fifty-nine  consecutive  days,  or 
eight  consecutive  weeks]  thereafter,  the  full  period  of  sixty  days,  the  last  publication 
thereof  being  in  the  issue  dated  the of 187-. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this day  of ,  A.  D.  187-. 

[seal.]  ,  Notary  Public. 


APPENDIX.  93 

Form  I. 

AFFIDAVIT  OF  FIVE  HTJNDEED   DOLIiAKS  IMPBOVEMENT. 

.  of County  of- 


.  and ,  of  lawful  age,  being  first  duly  sworn  according  to  law,  depose 

and  say  that  tliey  are  acquainted  with  the mining  claims  in mining  dis- 
trict, county  and aforesaid,  for  which has  made  application  for  patent 

under  the  provisions  of  Chapter  Six  of  Title  Thirty-two  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of 
the  United  States,  and  that  the  labor  done  and  improvements  made  thereon  by  the 
applicant  and  his  grantors  exceed  five  hundred  dollars  in  value. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this day  of  — • — ,  A.  D.  187-. 


[Form  used  by  U.  S.  Surveyor  General  of  California.] 
AFFIDAVIT   OF  EXPENDITUKES  UPON   MINING   CLAIMS. 

We, and  ,  being  severally  sworn,  on  oath  depose  and  say,  that  we 

are  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  State  of  California ;  that  we  are  well 

acquainted  with  the  situation  and  character  of  the  mining  claim  known  as  the 

mine,  claimed  by ,  located  in Mining  District,  in —  Countj-,  State  of 

California,  Township  No. ,  Range  No. , base  and  meridian,  sur- 
veyed by ,  U.  S.  Deputy  Mineral  Surveyor,  in  the  month  of ,  187- ;  that 

the  same  is  a claim,  containing  — ;  that  we  have  no  financial  interest  in 

said  mining  claim;  that  we  are  conversant  with  the  working  of  mining  claims,  and 
that  to  the  best  of  our  knowledge  and  belief  the  amount  expended  on  said  mining 

claim  in  laboi  and  improvements  by  the  said  claimant-  or grantor-,  is  not  less 

than dollars.    Said  improvement  consists  of 

[SEA.L.] 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this day  of  — ,  A.  D.  187-. 

[seal.] 


Form  J. 

STATEMENT  AND   CHAKGE   OF  FEES. 


■  of ,  County  of 


-,  being  first  duly  sworn  according  to  law,  deposes  and  says  that  he  is  the 


applicant  for  patent  for  the lode  in Mining  District,  County  of 


of ,  under  the  provisions  of  Chapter  Six  of  Title  Tiiirty-two  of  the 

Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  and  that  in  the  prosecution  of  said  application 
he  has  paid  out  the  following  amount,  viz :  to  the  credit  of  the  Surveyor-General's 

office, dollars;  for  surveying, dollars  ;  for  filing  in  the  local  land-office, 

dollars;  for  publication  of  notice, dollars;  and  for  the  land  embraced 

in  his  claim, dollars.  . 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this day  of ,  A.  D.  187-. 

[seal.]  ,  Notary  Public. 


Form  K. 

PEOOF   OF   0WNEE3HIP    AND    POSSE3SIO.V    IN   CASE  OF    LOSS   OR  ABSENCE 
OF   MINING   UECOKDS. 

of ,  County  of ,  s*-. 

and ,  each  for  himself,  and  not  one  for  the  other,  being  first  duly 

Bworn  according  to  law,  deposes  and  saya  that  he  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 


94  APPENDIX. 

over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  a  resident  of County, ,  and  has 

resided  in Mining  District,  wherein  the mine  is  situate,  since day 

of ,  187-.    That  since  said  date  he  has  been  acquainted  with  the mine, 

and  with  the  possessors  and  workers  thereof.  That  said  mine  was  located  and  has 
been  possessed  and  worlied  in  accordance  with  the  customs  and  usages  of  miners  in 
said  district,  and  in  conformity  with  the  rules  and  regulations  regulating  the  location, 

holding  and  working  of  mining  claims,  in  force  and  observed  in  the  State  of . 

That  there  are  no  written  records  known  to  deponent  existing  in  said  mining  district. 

That  afSant  is  credibly  informed  and  believes  that  the mine  was  located  in  the 

year  18 — ,  and  that  if  any  record  was  made  of  said  location,  and  of  the  names  of 
locators,  the  same  has  not  been  in  existence  for  a  long  number  of  years  past,  and 
that  by  reason  thereof  the  names  of  locators  cannot  now  be  ascertained,  and  no 
abstract  of  title  from  locators  to  the  present  owner  can  be  made.  That  the  posses- 
sion of  applicant  and  his  predecessors  in  interest  of  said mine  has  been  actual, 

notorious  and  continuous,  to  the  positive  knowledge  of  deponent,  since  his  residence 
in  said  mining  district,  and  that  such  possession  has  been  perfected  and  maintained, 
in  conformity  with  mining  usages  and  customs,  and  has  been  acquiesced  in  and 

respected  by  the  miners  of  said  district.    That  applicants  right  to  the  said 

mine  is  not  in  litigation  within  the  knowledge  of  affiant,  and  that  no  action  or  actions 
have  been  commenced  affecting  the  right  to  said  mine  since  his  acquaintance  there- 
with (and  that  the  time  for  the  commencement  thereof,  as  required  to  be  instituted 

under  the  provisions  of  the  Statute  of  Limitations  of  the  of ,  has  long 

since  elapsed).  That  applicant  and  his  predecessors  in  interest  have  expended  in 
the  improvement,  development  and  working  of  said  mine  a  sum  of  money  exceeding 
dollars,  as  follows,  to  wit:   .  . 


Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this day  of ,  A.  I).  187-,  and  I 

certify  that  the  aforenamed and are  credible  and  respectable  persons, 

to  whose  affidavits  full  faith  and  credit  should  be  given. 
[seal.] 


Form  li. 

AFFIDAVIT  OF    CITIZENSHIP, 

-of ,  County  of ,  ss. 


,  being  first  duly  sworn  according  to  law,  deposes  and  says,  that  he  is  the 

applicant  for  patent  for mining  claim,  situate  in Mining  District,  County 

of ;  that  he  is  a  [native  or  naturalized]  citizen  of  the  United  States,  born  in 

the  County  of ,  State  of — ,  in  the  year  18 — ,  and  is  now  a  resident  at . 


Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this day  of ,  A.  D.  187-. 

[seal,] 


Form  M. 
CEETTPICATE  THAT  NO   SUIT  IS  PENDING. 


■  of ,  County  of  ■ 


I, ,  clerk  of  the  court  in  and  for County, ,  do  hereby  certify 

that  there  is  now  no  suit  or  action  of  any  character  pending  in  said  court  involving 

the  right  of  possession  to  any  portion  of mining  claim,  and  that  there  has  been 

no  litigation  before  said  court  affecting  the  title  to  said  claim,  or  any  part  thereof, 
for years  last  past  other  than  what  has  been  finally  decided  in  favor  of ■. 


APPENDIX.  95 


In  witness  "whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affixed  the  seal  of  said 

court,  at  my  ofBce  in ,  this day  of ,  A.  D.  187-. 

[SEAL.]  ,  Cl-irk  of  the Court . 


Form  N. 
FOWEK   OF  ATTOENET, 

Know  aH  men  by  these  presents,  that  we, and ,  do  hereby  constitute 

and  appoint as  our  attorney  in  fact,  for  us  and  in  our  names  to  make  applica- 
tion to  the  United  States  for  the  entry  and  purchase  of  certain  Government  lands,  in 

Mining  District,  - — —    County, of ,  known  as  the mining 

claim  and  premises;  and  to  have  the  same  surveyed,  and  to  any  and  all  steps  that 
may  be  necessary  to  procure  from  the  Government  of  the  United  States  a  patent  to 
the  said  lands  and  premises,  granting  the  same  to  ns.  And  to  do  all  other  acts  ap- 
pertaining to  the  said  survey  and  entry  aforesaid  as  we  ourselves  could  do  by  our 
own  act  and  in  our  own  proper  person. 

In  witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  and  affixed  our  seals  the 
day  of ,  A.  D.  187-. 

of ,  County  of ,  ss. 


On  tliis  day  of ,  A.  D.  1S7-,  before  me, ',  a  Notary  Public  in 

and  for  the ,  County  of ,  personally  appeared ,  known  to  me  to  be 

the  same  person  whose  name  — subscribed  to  the  foregoing  instrument,  and 

acknowledged  to  me  that executed  the  same. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affixed  my  official  seal,  at 
my  office,  the  day  and  year  in  this  certificate  first  above  written. 
[seal.]  ,  Notary  Public. 


Form  O. 

PKOTEST  AND  ADVERSE  CLAIM. 


United  States  Land-Office, of  • 


In  the  matter  of  tlie  application  of ,  for  a  United  States  patent  for  the 

lode  or  mining  claim  and  the  land  and  premises  appertaining  to  said  mine. 


situated  in  the Mining  District,  in County, of  — 

To  Uie  Register  and  Receiver  of  tlie  United  Slates  Land  Office  at ,  and  to  the 

above-named  applicant  for  patent  for  Ulc lode. 

You  are  hereby  notified  that ,  of  the  city  of ,  County  of ,  and 

of ,  and  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  of  America,  is  the  lawful  owner, 

and  entitled  to  the  possession  of hundred  feet  of  the  said lode  or  mine 

described  in  said  application,  as  shown  hj  the  diagram  posted  on  said  claim,  and  the 
copy  thereof  tiled  in  the  land-office  with  said  application,  and  as  such  owner  this 

contestant,  the  said ,  does  protest  against  the  issuing  of  a  patent  thereon  to 

said  applicant,  and  does  dispute  and  contest  the  right  of  said  applicant  therefor. 

And  this  contestant  does  present  the  nature  of  his  adverse  claim,  and  does  fully 
set  forth  the  same  in  the  affidavit  hereto  attached,  marked  Exhibit  "A,"  and  the 
further  exhibits  thereto  attached,  and  made  part  of  said  affidavit. 

The  said therefore  respectfully  asks  the  said  Register  and  Receiver  that  all 

further  proceedings  in  the  matter  be  stayed,  until  a  final  settlement  and  adjudication 
of  the  rights  of  this  contestant  can  be  had  in  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction. 
(Place  and  Date.) 


96 


APPENDIX. 


Exhibit  "A." 

of ,  County  of ,  ss. 

being  first  duly  sworn,  deposes  and  says,  tliat  he  is  a  citizen  of  the  United 


States,  born  in  the  State  of ,  and  is  now  residing  in ;  that  lie  is  the  con- 
testant and  protestant  named  in,  and  who  subscribed  the  notice  and  protest  hereto 
annexed.    Affiant  further  says  that  he  is  the  owner  by  purchase  and  in  possession  of 

the  (adverse)  lode  or  vein  of  quartz  and  other  rock  in  place,  bearing  ^ and 

other  metals.     That  the  said  lode  is  situated  in  the Mining  District, 

County, of ■ — . 

[The  history  of  the  lode  may  he  given,  if  deemed  advisable,  as  follows  :'\ 

This  afBant  further  says,  that  on  the  day  of  its  location  the  premises  hereinafter 
described  were  mineral  lands  of  the  public  domain,  and  entirely  vacant  and  unoccu- 
pied, and  were  not  owned,  held  or  claimed  by  any  person  or  party  as  mining  ground 
or  otherwise,  and  that  while  the  same  were  so  vacant  and  unoccupied  and  unclaimed, 
to  wit : 

On  tiie day  of ,  18 — ,  (name  locators,)  each  and  all 

of  them  being  citizens  of  the  United  States,  entered  upon  and  explored  the  pre- 
mises, discovered  and  located  the  said lode,  and  occupied  the  same  as 

mining  claims.    That  the  said  premises  so  located  and  appropriated  consist  of 


thousand   feet  iu  a  erly  direction,  and thousand  feet  in  a 

erly  direction,  together  with  all  the  dips,  spurs,  angles,  depths,  widths,  off- 
shoots and  variations,  as  will  fully  appear  by  reference  to  the  notice  of  location,  a 
duly  certified  copy  whereof  is  hereunto  annexed,  marked  Exhibit  "  B,"  and  hereby 

made  a  part  of  this  affidavit.    That  the  locators,  after  the  discovery  of  said • 

lode,  drove  a  stake  on  said  lode  on  the  discovery  claim,  erected  a  monument  of  stone 
around  said  stake,  and  placed  thereon  a  written  notice  of  location,  describing  the 
claim  so  located  and  appropriated,  giving  the  names  of  the  locators  and  quantity 
taken  by  each,  and  after  doing  all  the  acts  and  performing  all  the  labor  required  by 

the  laws  aud  regulations  of  said  Mining  District  and  territory  of ,  tho 

locators  of  said  lode  caused  said  notice  to  be  filed  and  recorded  in  the  proper  books 
of  record  in  tho  Recorder's  office  in  said  distilct  on  the day  of ,  IS — . 

Affiant  further  says,  that  the  said  locators  remained  continuously  in  possession  of 

said  lode,  working  upon  Ihe  same,  and  within months  from  the  date  of  said 

location  had  done  and  performed  work  and  labor  on  said  location,  in  mining  thereon 
and  developing  the  same,  more  than days  work,  and  expended  on  said  loca- 
tion more  than  ■■ hundred  dollars,  and  by  said  labor  and  money  expended  upon 

the  said  mining  location  and  claim,  had  developed  the  same,  and  extracted  there- 
from more  than tons  of  ore. 

Aud  affiant  further  says,  that  said  locators,  in  all  respects,  complied  with  every 
custom,  rule,  regulation  and  requirement  of  the  mining  laws,  and  every  rule  and  cus- 
tom established  and  in  force  in  said Mining  District,  and  thereby  became  and 

were  owners  (except  as  against  the  paramount  title  of  the  United  States)  and  the 
rightful  possessors  of  said  mining  claims  and  premises. 

And  this  affiant  further  says,  that  said  locators  proved  and  established  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  the  Recorder  of  said Mining  District  that  they  had  fully  compiled 

with  all  the  rules,  customs,  regulations  and  requirements  of  the  laws  of  said  district, 

and  thereupon  the  said  Recorder  issued  to  the  locators  of  said lode  certificates 

confirming  their  titles  and  rights  to  said  premises. 

That  the  said  lode  was  located  and  worked  by  the  said  locators  as  tenants  in  com- 
mon, and  they  so  continued  in  the  rightful  and  undisputed  possession  thereof  from 

the  time  of  said  location  until  on  or  about  the day  of ,  A.  D.  IS—,  at 

which  time  the  said  locators  and  owners  of  said  lode  formed  and  organized  under  tlie 

laws  of  the  State  (or  territory)  of ,  and  incorporated  under  the  name  of  the 

<< ^"  and  on  the  day  of ,  A.  D.  18 — ,  each  of  the  locators  of  said 

lode  conveyed  said  lode,  and  each  of  the  rights,  titles  and  interests  in  and  to  said 
lode,  to  said  " mining  company." 

On  the  said  ■ day  of ,  18—,  the  said  company  entered  into  and  upon 

said lode  and  was  seized  and  possessed  thereof  and  every  part  and  parcel  of 

the  same,  and  occupied  and  mined  thereon  until  the day  of ,  18—,  at 

which  time  the  said mining  company  sold  and  conveyed  the  same  to  this 

affiant,  which  said  several  transfers  and  conveyances  will  fully  appear  by  reference 
to  the  abstract  of  title  and  paper  hereto  attached,  marked  Exhibit  "  D,"  and  made  a 
part  of  this  affidavit. 

{In  case  of  individual  transfers.'] 

And  this  affiant  further  says  that  the  said -,  who  located  claim north- 
westerly of  the  said lode,  and  the  said ,  who  located  claim north- 
westerly thereon,  were  seized  and  possessed  of  said  claims,  and  occupied  and  mined 
thereon  until  the day  of ,  18—,  at  which  time  the  said and ■ 


APPENDIX.  97 


sold  and  conveyed  the  same  to ,  and  thereupon  the  said was  spized  and 

possessed  of  said  mining  claims  and  locations,  and  occupied  and  mined  thereon  until 

the day  of ,  18—,  at  which  time  the  said sold  and  conveyed  the 

same  to  this  alliant,  as  will  fully  ajipear  by  reference  to  the  abstract  of  title  and 
paper  hereto  attached,  marked  Exhibit  "  D,"  and  which  this  afliant  hereby  makes  a 
part  of  tills  his  affidavit. 

Affiant  further  says,  that  he  is  now  and  has  been  in  the  occupation  and  possession 

of  the  said  lode  since  the day  of ,  IS — ,  and  that  Said  lode  and 

mining  claims  were  located,  and  the  title  thereto  established,  several before 

said  (applied  for) lode  was  located. 

[In  case  the.  history  of  t^e  lode  is  not  traced,  the  follov-ing  may  he  inserted']: 

And  the  record  title  to  said  (adverse)  lode  is  in  this  affiant,  as  will  fully  appear  by 
reference  to  the  abstract  gf  title  and  paper  hereto  attached,  marked  Exhibit  "D," 
and  which  this  affiant  hereby  makes  a  part  of  this  his  affidavit. 

Affiant  further  says,  that  said lode,  as  shown  by  the  notice  and  diagram 

posted  on  said  claim,  and  the  copy  thereof  filed  in  the  United  States  Land-Office,  at 

said with  said  application  for  a  patent,  crosses  and  overlaps  said lode, 

and  embraces  about hundred  feet  in  length  by hundred  feet  in  width  of 

the  said lode,  the  property  of  this  affiant,  as  fully  appears  by  reference  to  the 

diagram  or   map  duly  certilied  by  ,  United  States  Deputy  Surveyor,  hereto 

attached,  marked  Exhibit  "  C,"  and  which  diagram  presents  a  correct  description  of 
the  relative  locations  of  the  said  (adverse)  lode,  and  of  the  (pretended)  (applied  for) 
lode.  \ 

Affiant  further  says,  that  he  is  informed  and  believes  that  said  applicant  for  patent 
well  knew  that  affiant  was  the  owner  in  possession  and  entitled  to  the  possession  of 
so  much  of  said  mining  ground  embraced-  within  the  survey  and  diagram  of  said 

applications,  as  is  hereinbefore  stated,  and  that  this  affiant  is  entitled  to  all  the 

and  other  metal  in  said  adverse  lode,  and  all  that  may  be  contained  within  a  space  of 
feet  on  each  side  of  said  (adverse)  lode. 

And  affiant  furtlier  says,  that  this  protest  is  made  in  entire  good  faith,  and  with 
the  sole  object  of  protesting  the  legal  rights  and  property  of  this  affiant  in  the  said 
(adverse)  lode  and  mining  premises. 


Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this day  of ,  A,  D.  1- 


sukveyor's  ceetificate. 
On  the  diagram  marked  Exhibit "  C,"  the  surveyor  must  certify  in  effect  as  followsl: 
I  hereby  certify  that  the  above  diagram  correctly  represents  the  conflict  claimed 

to  exist  between  the — — and lodes,  as  actually  surveyed  by  me.    And  I 

further  certify,  that  the  value  of  the  labor  and  improvements  on  the  (adverse)  lode, 
exceeds  five  hundred  dollars. 

(Place  and  date.)  ,  U.  S.  Deputy  Surveyor. 

Form  P. 

NON-MINEKAIi   AFFIDAVIT. 
of County  of ,  ss. 


and of  said  county  and  State,  being  first  duly  sworn,  each  for  him- 
self deposes  and  says  tliat  he  is  well  acquainted  with claim,  situated  in  ■ 


milling  district,  County  of and of claimed  by ,  applicant  for 

United  States  patent  therefor ;  that  he  is  well  acquainted  with  the  character  of  said 
described  land,  and  with  each  and  every  legal  subdivision  thereof,  having  frequently 
passed  over  the  same  ;  that  his  knowledge  of  said  land  is  such  as  to  enable  him  to 
testily  understandingly  with  regard  thereto  ;  that  there  is  not,  to  his  knowledge, 
within  the  limits  thereof,  any  vein  or  lode  of  quartz  or  other  rock  in  place,  bearing 
gold,  silver,  cinnabar,  lead,  tin,  or  copper,  or  any  deposit  of  coal ;  that  there  is  not 
within  the  limits  of  said  land,  in  his  knowledge,  any  placer,  cement,  gravel,  or  other 
valuable  mineral  deposits ;  that  no  portion  of  said  land  is  claimed  for  mining  purposes 
under  the  local  customs  or  .rules  of  miners,  or  otherwise  ;  that  no  portion  of  said 
land  is  worked  for  minerals  during  any  part  of  the  year  by  any  person  or  persons ; 
that  said  land  is  essentially  non-mineral  land,  and  that  he  has  no  interest  whatever  in 

eaid 

U.  S.  MIN.  S.  7. 


98  APPENDIX. 


Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this day  of ,  A.  D.  187 — ;  and  I 

hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  affidavit  was  read  to  the  said previous  to  his 

name  being  subscribed  thereto  ;  and  that  deponent  is  a  respectable  person  to  whose 
affidavit  full  faith  and  credit  should  be  given. 


Form  Q,i 

PKOOF  THAT  NO  KNOWN  VEINS  EXIST    IN    A  PLACEB    MINING    CLAIM. 
of County  of ,  ss. 


and ,  of  the  said  county  and  State,  being  first  duly  sworn,  each  for 

himself,  deposes  and  says,  that  he  is  well  acquainted  with  the  ■  placer  mining 

claim,  embracing ,  situated  in  the mining  district,  in  the  county 

of ,  and  of ,  owned  and  worked  by ,  applicant  for  United' 

States  patent ;  that  for  many  years  he  has  resided  near,  and  often  been  upon  the  said 
mining  premises,  and  that  no  known  vein  or  veins  of  quartz,  or  other  rock  in  place, 
bearing  gold,  silver,  cinnabar,  lead,  tin,  or  copper  exist  on  said  mining  claim,  or  on' 
any  part  thereof,  so  far  as  he  knows,  and  he  verily  believes  that  none  exist  thereon. 
And  further,  that  he  has  no  interest  whatever  in  the  said  placer  mine  of . 


Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this day ,  A.  D.  187 


Forta.  Rj 

NOTICE  OF  APPLICATION  FOB  A,  UNITED  STATES  PATENT. 
LNotice  to  be  posted  with  plat  on  the  claim.] 

Notice  is  hereby  given  that  in  pursuance  of  Chapter  Six,  Title  Thirty-two  of  the 

Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States, and  ,  claiming linear  feet 

of  the vein,  lode  or  mineral  deposit,  bearing ,  with  surface  ground 

feet  in  width,  lying  and  being  situate  within  the  mining  district,  County  of 

and of ,  has  made  application  to  the  United  States  for  a  patent 

for  the  said  mining  claim,  which  is  more  fully  described  as  to  metes  and  bounds  by 
the  oflBcial  plat  herewith  posted,  and  by  the  field-notes  of  survey  thereof,  now  filed  in 
the  office  of  the  Register  of  the  district  of  lands,  subject  to  sale  at ,  which  field- 
notes  of  survey  describe  the  boundaries  and  extent  of  said  claim  on  the  surface,  with 

magnetic  variation  at east,  as  follows,  to  wit : 

[Full  description  given  by  courses  and  distances.'] 

the  said  mining  claim  being  of  r-jcord  in  the  office  of  the  Recorder  of at 

in  the  County  and afofesaid,  the  presumed  general  course  or  direction  of  the 

gaid vein,  lode  or  mineral  deposit  being  shown  upon  the  plat  posted  herewith, 

as  near  as  can  be  determined  from  present  developments,  this  claim  being  for 

linear  feet  thereof,  together  with  the  surface  ground  shown  upon  the  official  plat 
posted  herewith,  the  said  vein,  lode  and  mining  premises  hereby  sought, to  be  pat- 
ented, being  bounded  as  follows,  to  wit : 

[Insert  description.'] 
that  said  claim  being  designated  as  Lot  No. ,  in  the  official  plat  posted  herewith. 

Any  and  all  persons  claiming  adversely  the  mining  ground,  vein,  lode,  premises, 
or  any  portion  thereof  so  described,  surveyed,  platted  and  applied  for,  are  hereby 
notified  that  unless  their  adverse  claims  are  duly  filed  as  according  to  law,  and  the 


APPENDIX.  99 


regulations  thereunder  within  sixty  days  from  the  date  hereof,  with  the  Eegister 

of  the  United  States  Land  Office  at in  the of they  will  be  barred, 

in  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  said  statute. 


Dated  on  the  ground,  this day  of ,  A.  D.  187 

Witnesses :  ■   .  ■ ,   " 


i'omk  S: 

NOTICE  FOE  PtJBLICAtaOIi:  IN  NEWSPAPEB. 

Application  for  a  Patent  to  tfie —  Idine,  No. :  ;  / ',  ]  i , 

United  States  Laiid  (*?P,C2,'f^J^'r-  JL^^y  ;  ,  ■ 

Notice  is  hereby  given  that ,  whose  post  office  address  is  '  .,  kvJ?,  this 

day  filed  his  application  for  a  patent  for linear  feet  of  the mine  or  vein 

bearing with  surface  ground feet  in  width,  situate,  lying  and  being  in 

mining  district,  County  of and  State  of ,  and  known  and  desig- 
nated by  the  field-notes  and  official  plat  on  file  in  this  office  as  Lot  No. in 

township range of meridian .     The  exterior  boundaries  of 

said  Lot  No. —  being  as  follows,  to  wit : 

Variation  .    Commencing  to  place  of  beginning,  containing 

acres.    This  claim  is  bounded : 

\_llere  inRert'i)Oundaries.\ 

The  location  of  this  mine  is  duly  recorded  in  the  Recorder's  office  of ,  in  Book 

of . 


Any  and  all  persons  claiming  adversely  any  portion  of  said  mine  or  said 

mining  ground  as  hereinbefore  described,  are  required  to  file  their  adverse  claim  with 

the  Register  of  the  United  States  Land  Office  at ,  in  the  State  of ,  during 

the  sixty  days  period  of  publication  hereof,  or  they  will  be  barred  by  virtue  of  the 
provisions  of  the  statute.         '  ,  Register. 

Form  Ti. 

APPLICATION  FOB  COAli  IiAim> 

I,  ,  hereby  apply,  under  the  provisions  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the 

United  States  (sections  2347  to  2352  inclusive),  providing  for  the  sale  of  the  lands 

oi  the  United  States  containing  coal,  to  purchase  the quarter  of  section , 

in  township of  range ,  in  the  district  of  lands  subject  to  sale  at  the  land- 
office  at ,  and  containing acres,  and  I  solemnly  swear  that  no  portion  of 

said  tract  is  in  the  possession  of  any  other  party ;  that  I  am  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  [or  have  declared  my  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,]  and  have  never  held  nor  purchased  lands  under  said  act,  either 
as  an  individual  or  as  a  member  of  an  association ;  and  I  do  further  swear  that  I  am 
well  acquainted  with  the  character  of  said  described  land,  and  with  each  and  every 
legal  subdivision  thereof,  having  frequently  passed  over  the  same ;  that  my  knowl- 
edge of  said  land  is  such  as  to  enable  me  to  testify  understandingly  with  regard 
thereto;  that  there  is  not,  to  my  knowledge,  within  the  limits  thereof,  any  vein  or 
lode  of  quartz  or  other  rock  in  place  bearing  gold,  silver  or  copper  ;  and  that  there 
is  not  within  the  limits  of  said  land,  to  my  knowledge,  any  valuable  mineral  deposit 
other  than  coal.    So  lielp  me  God. 


100  APPENDIX. 

Form  V. 

DECIiAKATOBT  STATEMENT   ON  APPLICATION  FOE   COAL  LAND. 

I^ ,  being years  of  age,  and  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  [or  hav- 

ing  declared  my  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  State?,]  and  never 
having,  either  as  an  individual  or  as  a  member  of  an  association,  held  or  purchased 
any  coal  lands  under  the  act  approved  March  3,  1873,  entitled  "An  act  to  provide 
for  the  sale  of  the  laud  of  the  United  States  containing  coal,"  or  under  Chapter  Six 
of  T'tle  Tliirty-fwo  of  the  Tidvisc-cl'Stat'^tes-oF  the  United  States,  do  hereby  declare 
my  intention  to  purchase,  under  the  provisicns  of  said  Chapter  Six  of  Title  Thirty- 

tVo  of"  the  Eevised  Statutes  of  the  United  §tates,  the  quarter  of  section 

,  in  township  ,  of  range j — ,  of  lands  subject  to  sale  at  the  district 

land-ofBce  at ,  and  thdt  I  cime  into^  possession  of  said  tract  on  the day 

of ,  Ai  'ly.  18 — ,  and  have' ever  since  remained  in  actual  possession  continu- 

pdsiy,  arid  have  expended  in  labor  and  improvements  on  said  mme  the  sum  of ' 

dollars,  the  labor  and  improvements  being  as  follows : 

[Here  describe  the  nature  and  character  of  the  improvements. 1 
and  I  do  furthermore  solemnly  swear  that  I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  character  of 
said  described  land,  and  with  each  and  every  legal  subdivision  thereof,  having  fre- 
quently passed  over  the  same  ;  that  my  knowledge  of  said  land  is  such  as  to  enable 
me  to  testify  understandingly  with  regard  thereto ;  that  there  is  not  to  my  knowledge 
within  the  limits  thereof,  any  vein  or  lode  of  quartz  or  other  rock  in  place  bearmg 
gold,  silver  or  copper;  and  that  there  is  not  within  the  limits  of  said  land,  to  my 
knowledge,  any  valuable  mineral  deposit  other  than  coal. 


Foi-m  V4 

AITIDAVIT  ON  APPLICATION  FOK   COAL  LAND. 

I, ,  claiming  the  right  of  purchase  under  Chapter  Six  of  Title  Thirty-two 

of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States  (sections  2347  to  2352),  providing  for  the 

sale  o  the  lands  of  the  Un^d  States  containing  coal,  to  the quarter  of  section 

,  in  township ,  of  range ,  subject  to  sale  at ,  do  solemnly  swear 

that  I  have  never  had  the  right  of  purchase  under  this  act,  either  as  an  individual  or  a 
member  of  an  association,  and  that  I  have  never  held  any  other  lands  iinder  its  pro- 
visions ;  I  further  swear  that  I  have  expended  in  developing  coal  mines  on  said  tract 

in  labor  and  improvements  the  sum  of dollars,  the  nature  of  such  improvements 

being  as  follows : 

[Here  describe  the  nature  and  character  of  the  improvements.l 
that  I  am  now  in  the  actual  possession  of  said  mines,  and  make  the  entry  for  my 
own  use  and  benefit,  and  not  directly  or  indirectly  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  any 
other  party  ;  and  I  do  furthermore  swear  that  I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  char- 
acter of  said  described  land,  and  with  each  and  every  legal  subdivision  thereof,  hav- 
ing frequently  passed  over  the  same ;  that  my  knowledge  of  said  land  is  such  as  to 
enable  me-  to  testify  understandingly  with  regard  thereto ;  that  there  is  not,  to  my 
knowledge,  within  the  limits  thereof,  any  vein  or  lode  of  quartz  or  other  rock  in  place 
bearing  gold,  silver,  or  copper;  and  that  there  is  not  within  the  limits  of  said  land, 
to  my  knowledge,  any  valuable  mineral  deposit  other  than  coal.    So  help  me  God. 

I, ,  of  the  land-office  at ,  do  hereby  certify  that  the  above  afiS- 

davit  was  sworn  and  subscribed  to  before  me  this day  of ,  A.  D.  18 — » 


INDEX.  101 


IXDEX. 


ABANDONMENT,  of  tunnel,  what  shall  be  deemed,  §  2323,  p.  10. 

See  Decisions  ;  Instructions  ;  Expenditures  ;  Re-location. 
ACTS  OF  CONGRESS,  relating  to  mining,  passed  prior  to  Dec.  1,  18V3  ;  repealed, 
§  5590,  p.  34. 

relating  to  mineral  lands.    See  Table  of  Reference,  p.  34. 
ACTION,  possessory,  for  recovery  of  mining  title,  not  affected  by  paramount  title  in 

United  States,  §  910,  p.  28.' 
ADVERSE  CLAIM,  proceedings  on,  §  2326,  pp.  14,  15. 
when  to  be  made,  §  2325,  p.  13. 

to  be  filed  within  the  sixty  days  of  publication,  §  2325,  p.  13. 
must  be  upon  oath,  §  2326,  p.  14. 
what  it  must  show,  §  2320,  p.  14. 
its  effect  on  stay  of  proceedings,  §  2326,  p.  14. 

proceedings  to  be  commenced  on  within  thirty  days  after  filing,  §2326,p.l4. 
failure  to  prosecute  shall  be  waiver  of,  §  232G,  p.  14. 
on  coal  lands,  §  2351,  p.  27. 
who  may  file,  p.  59. 
what  should  accompany,  p.  59. 
what  adverse  claimant  must  show,  p.  59. 
pleadings  on,  p.  GO. 
verification  of,  p.  61, 
waiver  and  withdrawal  of,  p.  01. 
based  on  a  contingency  will  not  be  entertained,  p.  68. 
See  Comstock  Lode ;  Decisions  ;  Instructions. 
AFFIDAVITS,  of  two  persons  to  be  filed  by  applicant  for  patent  to  mining  claim,  of 
notice  having  been  posted,  §  2325,  p.  12. 
to  be  filed  by  mineral  claimant,  after  publication  of  notice,  §  2325,  p.  13. 
under  mining  lands,  by  whom  may  be  verified,  §  2335,  p.  21, 
by  whom  made,  in  proof  of  citizenship  under  mining  laws,  §  2321,  p.  9. 
See  Decisions ;  Instructions. 
AGRICULTURAL  LANDS,  in  lands  reserved  as  mineral  may  be  separated  and 
opened  trf  pre-emption,  when,  §  234"^,  p.  24. 
contests  by  mineral  claimants,  p.  63. 
valuable  mineral  deposits  on,  p.  63. 
proof  of  character  of,  p.  63. 

See  Instructions  ;  Mineral  Lands  ;  Valuable  Mineral  Deposits. 
ALASKA  TERRITORY,  mineral  lands  in  not  patentable,  p.  64. 
AMENDMENTS,  to  act  of  1S72,  and  to  §§  2324,  pp.  12,  33. 
ANNUAL  EXPENDITURES.    See  ExpendUures. 

ARIZONA,  fifty  per  cent  addition  to  certain  Registers  and  Receivers  fees  in,  §2238,  p.29. 
APPEAL.    See  Coal-Lands;  Decisions ;  Instructions. 

APPLICATION  FOR  PATENT,  on  lode  claims,  how  made,  §  2325,  pp.  12,  13. 
on  placer  claims,  how  made,  §  2333,  p.  19. 
by  incorporations,  p.  05. 
who  may  make,  p.  05. 
for  mineral  lands  on  town  sites,  p.  G5. 
evidence  on,  p.  65. 
more  than  one  location  may  be  embraced  in,  p.  60. 

See  Adverse  Claim  ;  Decisions ;  Instructions. 


102  INDEX. 

BORAX.    See  Valuable  Mineral  Deposits ;  Instructions. 

CALIFORNIA,  penalty  for  altering,  forging,  counterfeiting,  etc.,  any  instrument  of 
writing  concerning  land  titles  in,  §  2471,  p.  30. 
penalty  for  falsely  dating  any  instrument  in  writing  to  obtain  title  to  lands 

in,  under  pretended  Mexican  authority,  etc.,  §  2472,  p.  31. 
penalty  for  presenting  any  false  or  counterfeit  instrument  concerning  land 

in,  as  evidence,  etc.,  §  2473,  p.  32, 
fifty  per  cent  addition  to  certain  fees  of  Registers  and  Receivers  in  §  2238, 

p.  29. 
mineral  lands  on  school  sections  in,  pp.  66,  85. 
sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections  of  public  lands  in,  pp.  79,  85. 
mineral  lands  belonging  to,  affidavit  of  applicant  for  school  lands,  p.  85, 
occupant  a  preferred  purchaser,  p.  86. 
proceedings  on  contest,  p.  86. 
payments  for,  p.  86. 
approval  of  locations,  p.  86. 
right  of  way  for  ditches,  etc.,  protected,  p.  86. 
patents  for  mineral  lands  on  school  sections,  p.  86. 

See  Appendix;  Sixteenth  and  Thirty-sixth  Sections;  Water  Bights. 
CANALS,  right  of  way  for,  for  agricultural,  mining  and  manufacturing  purposes  con- 
firmed, §  2339,  p.  22. 
remedies  to  settlers  injured  by  construction  of,  §  2339,  p.  22. 
CITIZENSHIP,  of  claimants  for  mineral  lands,  how  proved,  §  232-'',  p.  9. 
of  corporations,  p.  66. 

See  Decisions ;  hisiruclions. 
CLAIMS,  MINING,  length  of,  on  veins  or  lodes,  §  2320,  p.  8. 
adverse,  proceedings  on,  §  2356,  pp.  14, 15. 
rights  of  locators  of,  §  2322,  pp.  9,  10. 
regulations  concerning,  by  miners,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
expenditure,  labor  and  improvements  on,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
records  of,  what  to  contain,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
description  of  vein,  how  made,  §  2327,  p.  15. 
placer,  entry  and  patent  of,  §§  2329, 2330,  pp.  16,  17. 
subdivision  of  into  ten-acre  tracts,  §  2330,  pp.  16,  17. 
maximum  of  locations  made  after  July  9,  1870,  §  2330,  p.  17. 
maximum  of  locations  made  after  May  10, 1872,  §  2331,  p.  17. 
proceedings  to  obtain  patent  for,  §  2333,  p.  19. 
intersecting,  on  lodes  or  veins,  who  to  have  title,  §  2336,  p.  21. 
on  coal-lands,  §§  2347-2352,  pp.  25,  27. 

See  Mining  Claims;  Locations. 
COAL-LANDS,  who  may  make  entry  of,  §  2347,  p.  25. 

limit  of  amount  which  individual  may  enter,  §  2347,  p.  25. 

price,  how  regulated,  §  2347,  p.  25. 

persons  who  have  opened,  etc.,  mines  to  have  preference  right  of  entry^ 

§  2348,  p.  26. 
pre-emption  of,  §'  2348,  p.  26, 

certain  associations  may  enter  640  acres,  when,  §  2348,  p.  26. 
limit  of  time  for  presenting  claims  for,  §  2439,  p,  26. 
only  one  entry  allowed  to  same  person  or  association,  §  2350,  p.  26. 
limit  of  time  for  proof  and  payment,  §  2330,  p.  27. 

conflicting  claims  for,  liow  determined  where  improvements  commenced 
after  March  3, 1S73,  §  2351,  p.  27. 


INDEX.  103 

COAL-LANDS— Continued. 

wliere  improvements  made  before  March  3,  1873,  claim  may  be  divided, 

§  2351,  p.  27. 
Commissioners  of  General  Land-Office  to  make  rules,  etc.,  §  2351,  p.  27. 
no  rights  prior  to  March  3,  1873,  impaired  §  2352,  p.  27. 
no  sale  of  lands  valuable  for  gold,  silver,  or  copper  authorized,  §  2362, 

p.  27. 
improvements  upon,  §  2351,  p.  27. 
instructions  concernincj — sale  of,  how  provided  for,  IT  1,  p.  54.  > 

'when  and  how  may  be  entered,  IT  2,  p.  64. 
qualifications  of  purchaser,  IT  3,  p.  54. 
limitation  of  quantity,  IT  6,  p.  54. 
price  per  acre,  IT  9,  p.  54. 
preferred  purchasers,  who  are,  IT  12,  p.  54. 
possession  by  agent,  and  proof  of,  IT  13,  p.  54. 
labor  and  expenditure  required,  TT  14,  p.  55. 
adverse  claimants,  who  preferred.  IT  15,  p.  55. 
conflicting  claims,  award,  how  governed,  IT  IG,  p.  55. 
allowance  of  entry  conclusive,  IT  18,  p.  55. 
notice  of  contest,  how  given,  IT  20,  p.  55. 
appeal,  how  taken,  IT  23,  p.  55. 
appeal,  when  taken,  IT  24,  p.  55. 

application  to  purchase  by  private  entry,  form  of,  II  2G,  p.  5G. 
duties  of  Register  and  Receiver,  IT  27,  p.  56. 
declaratory  statement  on  application  to  purchase,  IT  31,  p.  56, 
statement,  when  to  be  filed,  IT  32,  p.  57. 
character  of  lauds  which  may  be  entered,  IT  3G,  p.  57. 
assignees,  rights  of,  IT  37,  p.  57. 
con.pletion  of  entries  made  prior  to  act,  IT  38,  p.  57. 
mOiTi'hly  reports  of  sale  to  be  made,  IT  39,  p.  67. 
aflBOavit  of  claimants,  form  of,  IT  39,  p.  57. 
affidavit,  who  may  make,  IT  40,  p.  58. 
afiSdadtto  be  corroborated,  IT  40,  p. 58. 
forms  concerning,  pp.  5o,  57. 

See  Appendix ;  Decisions  ;  Instructions. 
COLORADO  TERRITORY,  fifty  per  cent  addition  to  certain  fees  of  Registers  and 

Receivers  in,  §  2238,  p.  29. 
COMMISSIONER  OF  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE,  to  make  needful  rules,  etc.,  for 
sale  of  coal-lands,  §  2351,  p.  27. 
to  esjablish  maximum  charges  for  survey  and  publication  of  mining  claims, 
etc,  §  2384,  p.  20. 
COMSTOCK  LODE,  conditions  expressed  in  patents  on,  p.  08. 

See  Appendix ;  Decisions  ;  Sutra  Tunnel  Act, 
CONTESTS,  between  mineral  and  agricultural  claimants,  p.  60. 
testimony,  how  taken,  p.  50. 
notice,  and  publication  thereof,  p.  50. 
what  testimony  receive'},  p.  50. 
testimony,  before  whom  taken,  p.  51. 
on  conflicting  claims  to  coal-lands,  p.  55. 
etjiu'eww,  in  contests  betwcon  claimants,  p.  50. 
testimony,  before  whom  taken,  p.  50. 
notice,  and  proof  of  publication  thereof,  p.  50. 
examiuation,  what  ehiited,  p.  50. 
■when  Rcjgialer  or  Eccjiver  may  take  testimony,  p  .61. 


104  INDEX. 

CO-OWNER,  of  miniiig  claim  failing  to  contribute  proportion  of  expense  to  lose 
interest,  §  2324,  p.  11 

notice  to  delinquent  by  associate,  §  2324,  p.  11. 

performing  labor  of  delinquent,  associate  to  have  interest,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
CORPORATION.    See  Application  for  Patent ;  Citizenship  ;  Coal-Lands. 

DECISIONS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 

adverse  claim,  p.  59. 

affidavit,  p.  G2. 

agricultural  land,  p.  62. 

Alaska  territory,  p.  64. 

appeal,  p.  64. 

application  for  patent,  p.  64. 

California,  p.  66. 

citizenship,  p.  66. 

coal  lands,  j).  67. 

cement  claims,  p.  67. 

"  claim  "  defined,  p.  67 

Comstock  lode,  p.  68. 

corporation,  p.  69. 

easement,  p.  69.; 

entry,  p.  G9. 

error,  p.  70. 

evidence,  p.  70. 

expenditures,  p.  70. 

iron,  p,  71. 

jurisdiction,  p.  71. 

local  laws,  p.  72. 

location,  p.  72. 

mill  sites,  p.  74. 

mineral  lands,  p.  74. 

Nevada,  p.  75. 

New  Mexico,  p.  75. 

patent,  p.  75. 

posting,  p.  77. 

publication,  p.  77. 

•railroads,  p.  77. 

registers  and  receivers,  p.  78. 

re-location,  p.  79. 

rock  in  jjlace,  defined,  p.  79. 

sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections,  p.  7St 

springs,  p.  80. 

survey,  p.  80. 

timber,  p.  81. 

town-sites,  p.  81. 

tunnels,  p.  81. 

valuable  mineral  deposits,  p.  82. 

water  rights,  p.  83. 

See  Instructions. 

DEPUTY  SURVEYORS,  the  Surveyor-General  of  the  United  States  may  appoint  in 
each  land  district  containing  minerals,  §  2334,  p.  20. 

DITCHES,  right  of  way  for,  for  agricultural,  mining  and  manufacturing  purposes, 
confirmed,  §  2339,  p.  22. 
remedy  to  settlers  injured  by  construction  of,  §  2339,  p.  22, 


INDEX.  105 

DRAINAGE  OF  MINES,  where  may  be  regulated  by  State  or  Territorial  Legisla- 
tures, §  2338,  p.  22. 

EASEMENTS,  may  be  regulated  by  State  or  Territorial  Legislatures,  when,  §  2338. 

p.  22. 
ENTRY.     See  Agricultural  Lands ;  Coal-Lands;  Decisions;   Instructions;   Min. 

neral  Lands. 
EVIDENCE.    See  Decisions,  p.  70. 

EXPENDITURES,  oa  mining  claims  located  prior  to  May  10,  1872,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
on  mining  claims  located  after  May  10,  1872,  §  2321,  p.  11. 
where  claims  are  held  in  common,  may  be  made  on  any  one  claim,  §  2324. 

p.  11. 
on  failure  to  make  annual,  claim  shall  be  open  to  re-location,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
failure  of  one  of  several  co-owners  to  contribute  his  proportion  of,  pro- 
ceedings on,  §  2324,  pp.  II,  12. 
where  co-owner  fails  to  contribute  his  proportion  of,  his  interest  forfeited, 

§  2324,  pp.  11,  12. 
extension  of  time  for  making  annual,  note  to  §  2334,  p.  12. 
on  coal  mines,  §  2348,  p.  26. 
on  tunnel  run  for  purpose  of  developing  lode  to  be  considered  as  expended 

on  lode,  amendment  to  §  2324,  p.  33. 
not  required  on  surface  of  lode  where  made  on  tunnel  for  development  of 

such  lode,  amendment  to  §  2324,  p.  33. 
on  lodes  and  veins,  p.  70. 
on  placer  claims,  p.  71. 
on  mill  sites,  p.  74. 
on  tunnels,  p.  82. 

Sec  Decisions;  Instructions;  Mill  Site^;  Tunnels. 

FEES  AND  COMMISSIONS,  of  Registers  and  Receivers,  §  2238,  pp.  28,  29. 
FORMS,  certificate  of  surveyor-general  to  bo  attached  to  field  notes,  p.  49. 

certificate  of  surveyor-general  to  be  indorsed  on  plat,  p.  49. 

notice  of  location,  p.  89. 

application  for  survey,  p.  89. 

application  for  patent,  p.  90, 

proof  of  posting,  p.  90. 

proof  that  plat  and  notice  remained  posted  during  time  of  publication^ 
p.  91, 

registers'  certificate  of  posting,  p.  92. 

agreement  of  publisher,  p.  92 

proof  of  publication,  p.  92. 

affidavits  of  improvements  and  expenditures,  p.  93, 

statement  and  charge  of  fees,  p.  93. 

proof  in  case  of  loss  of  records,  p.  93. 

affidavit  of  citizenship,  p.  94. 

certificate  that  no  suit  is  pending,  p.  94. 

power  of  attorney,  j).  95. 

protest  and  adverse  claim,  p.  95. 
,  non-mineral  affidavit,  ji.  97. 

proof  that  no  known  vein  exists  in  placer  claim,  p.  98. 

notice  of  application  for  United  States  patent,  p.  98. 
,  notice  for  jjublication  in  newspaper,  p.  99. 

f  application  for  coal  land,  p.  99. 

'■*  declaratory  siatemont  on  application  for  coal  land,  p.  100. 

•v  affidavit  on  application  on  coal  land,  p.  100. 


106  INDEX. 

GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.    See  Decisions  p.  71 ;  Instructions. 

HOMESTEAD,  subject  to  vested  and  accrued  water  rights,  §  23i0,  p.  23. 

on  lands  reserved  as  mineral,  but  on  which  no  valuable  mines  discovered. 

rights  of  settlers  on,  §  2341,  p.  23. 
segregation  of  agricultural  from  mineral  lands,  §  2342,  p.  24. 
See  Instructions. 


IDAHO  TERRITORY,  fifty  per  cent  addition  to  certain  fees  of  Registers  and  Receivers 

in,  §  223S,  p.  29. 
IMPROVEMENTS.    See  Coal  Lands;  Expenditures;  Instructions. 
INSTRUCTIONS  UNDER  THE  MINING  STATUTES,  issued  by  the  General  Land- 
Office,  p.  3j. 

lands  open  to  exploration,  occupation  and  purchase,  IT  1,  p.  35. 
lode  claims  previously  located,  p.  35. 

lateral  and  linear  extent,  IT  2,  p.  35. 

possessory  mining  rights,  how  governed,  IT  3,  p.  35. 

rights  of  adverse  claimants  not  impaired,  IT  4,  p.  35. 

rights,  how  preserved,  H  5,  p.  36. 

rights  of  co-owners,  IT  G,  p.  3G. 
patents,  for  veins  or  lodes  heretofore  granted,  p.  36. 

right  of  possession  under,  IF  7,  p.  36. 

application  for  to  be  prosecuted  with  diligence,  IT  8,  p.  36. 
locating  claims  on  veins  or  lodes,  p.  36. 

who  may  locate,  and  extent  of  location,  IF  9,  p.  36. 

lateral  extent,  V  10,  p.  37.        • 

superficial  extent,  how  governed,  IT  11,  p.  37. 

local  mining  rules  as  to  record  of  claim,  IT  12,  p.  37. 

claim,  when  may  be  recorded,  IT  13,  p.  37. 

course  and  distance,  how  determined  and  defined,  IT  14,  p.  37. 

additional  requisites,  what  notice  should  state,  IT  15,  p. 37. 

notice  to  be  filed  for  record,  IT  16,  p.  38. 

value  of  annual  labor  required,  IT  17,  p.  38. 

validity  of  claim,  on  what  depends,  IT  18,  p.  38. 
tunnel  rights,  p.  38. 

to  veins  or  lodes  discovered,  how  abandoned,  IT  19,  p,  38. 

extent,  and  exclusiveness  of  right,  IT  20  p.  38. 

"  face  "  of  tunnel  defined,  IT  20,  p.  38. 

notice,  how  and  where  posted,  IT  21,  p.  38. 

sworn  statement  to  accompany  copy  of  notice,  f  23,  p.  39. 

notice  and  statement  to  be  recorded,  IT  24,  p.  39. 

compliance  with  statute,  IT  25,  p.  39. 

effect  of  negligence,  IT  26,  p.  39. 
proceedings  to  obtain  Government  title,  p.  39. 

authority  to  grant  by  patent,  TT  27,  p.  39. 

survey  to  be  made,  IT  28,  p.  39. 

plat  of  survey  and  notice  to  be  posted  IT  29,  p.  39. 

survey  notice  and  affidavit  filed,  ^  30,  p.  40. 

sworn  statement  required,  IT  31,  p.  40. 

local  records  to  support  affidavit,  IT  32,  p.  40. 

secondary  evidence  of  lost  records,  IT  33,  p.  40. 

publication  of  notice  by  Register,  IT  34,  p.  40. 


INDEX.  107 

INSTRUCTIONS— Proceedi!«5rs  to  ohlain  Ti^e— Continuefl. 

notice,  what  to  embrace,  IT  35,  p.  40. 

accuracy  and  completenes-i  requisite,  IT  3G,  p.  40. 

certificate  of  Surveyor-General  to  be  filed,  IT  37,  p.  40. 

certificate,  liow  made,  IT  3S,  p.  40. 

aflSdavit  of  posting  to  be  published,  IT  39,  p.  41. 

payment,  and  duty  of  Register  thereon,  IT  40,  p.  41. 

certificate  of  Register,  IT  41,  p  41. 

entries  to  be  consecutively  numbered,  IT  42,  p.  41. 

designation  of  mineral  claims  by  Surveyor-General,  IT  43,  p,,.41. 
adverse  claims,  p.  41. 

time  of  filing,  IT  44,  p.  41. 

to  be  made  on  oath,  IT  4.5,  p.  41. 

where  and  when  to  be  filed,  IT  47,  p.  41. 

before  whom  sworn  and  what  to  show,  T  48,  p.  41. 

plat  to  be  filed,  requisites  of,  IT  49,  p.  42. 

notice  to  parties,  waiver  of  rights,  IT  50,  p.  42. 

effect  of  filing  claims,  IT  51,  p.  42. 

proceedings  after  I'endition  of  judgment,  IT  52,  p.  42. 
placer  claims,  p  42. 

extent  and  survey  of,  IT  53,  p.  42. 

proceedings  to  obtain  patent,  price  per  acre,  IT  54,  p.  42. 

rights  of  ditch  owners,  IT  55,  p.  42. 

further  survey  of  private  entries,  when  not  necessary,  IT  56,  ,p»-43. 

subdivision  into  ten-acre  lots,  IT  57,  p.  43. 

entry  without  further  survey  or  plat,  IT  58,  p.  43. 

notice  of  location  of  ten-acre  lots,  IT  59,  p.  43. 

notice,  description,  data  required,  IT  GO,  p.  43. 

proceedings  where  vein  is  embraced,  IT  61,  p.  43. 

proceedings  where  no  adverse  claim  exists,  IT  62,  p.  43. 
quantity  subject  to  location,  p.  43. 

limitation  under  act  of  1870,  IT  G3,  p.  43. 

limitation  under  act  of  1872,  IT  64,  p.  43. 

local  mining  regulations,  how  aflfected,  IT  65,  p.  43. 

marking  locations,  IT  CO,  p.  44. 

possessory  right,  proof  of,  IT  G7,  p.  44. 

burden  of  proof  on  loss  of  records,  IT  68,  p.  44. 

Bworn  statement  of  claimant,  IT  69,  p.  44. 

certificate  to  be  produced,  IT  70,  p.  44. 

corroborative  testimony,  IT  71,  p.  44. 

proofs  to  be  full  and  complete,  IT  72,  p.  45. 
Deputy  Surveyors,  charges,  fees,  etc.,  p.  45. 

appointment  of  surveyors,  IT  73,  p.  45. 

appointment  and  remuneration  of  deputies,  IT  74,  p.  45. 

cost  of  office  work,  IT  75  p.  45. 

deputy  surveyor  for  each  mining  district,  IT  76,  p.  45. 

oath  to  be  administered,  IT  77,  p.  45. 

sworn  statement  of  charges  and  fees  paid,  V  78,  p.  45.  * 

excessive  or  exorbitant  charges,  IT  79  p.  45. 

fees  of  Register  and  Receiver,  IT  80,  p.  45. 

fees  and  charges  payable  in  legal  tenders,  IT  81,  p.  45. 

monthly  abstract  to  be  tiled,  IT  82,  p.  45. 

affidavits  before  whom  verified,  IT  83,  p.  45. 

modification  of  prior  instructions,  IT  84,  p.  46. 


108  INDEX. 

INSTRUCTIONS— Continued. 
Mill  sUes,  p.  46. 

non-mineral  lands,  when  patentable,  IT  86,  p.  46. 
proceedings  on  application  for  patent,  IT  87  p.  46. 
entry  by  owner  of  vein  or  lode,  how  made,  IT  88,  p.  46. 
entry  by  distinct  owner,  IT  80,  p.  47. 
proof  requisite,  IT  90,  p.  47. 
limitation  as  to  quantity,  TT  91,  p.  47. 
numbers  of  entries  to  be  consecutive,  IT  92,  p.  47. 
proof  of  citizenship  of  claimants,  p.  47. 

of  individual,  association  or  company,  IT  93,  p.  47. 
affidavits,  before  whom  may  be  taken,  IT  94,  p.  47. 
INTERSECTING  VEINS,  priority  of  title  shall  govern  rights  to,  §  2336,  p.  21. 
last  location  to  have  right  of  way,  §  2336,  p.  21. 

oldest  location  to  take  vein  below  point  of  Intersection,  §  2336,  p.  21. 
See  Decisions;   Veins  and  Lodes. 
IRON,  where  found  in  rock  in  place  to  be  patented  as  vein  or  lode,  p.  71. 

where  not  found  in  vein  or  lode  to  be  patented  in  same  manner  as  placer 
claim,  p.  71. 

LAND  GRANTS,  to  certain  States  not  to  include  mineral  lands,  when  specially  pro- 
vided, §  2346,  p.  25. 
LIMITATION,  of  vein  or  lode  claims,  §  2320,  p.  8. 

of  placer  claims,  §§  2329,  2330,  2331,  pp.  16,  17. 
of  time,  for  filing  certificate  of  work  and  affidavit  by  applicant  for  mining  claim, 
§2325,  pp.  12,  13. 
for  filing  adverse  claim,  §§  2325,  2326,  pp.  13,  14. 
for  presenting  pre-emption  claims  for  coal  lands,  §  2349,  p.  26. 
for  commencing  proceedings  in  court  on  an  adverse  mining  claim,  §  2326, 

p.  14. 
of  mill  site  locations,  §  2337,  pp.  21,  22. 
LOCAL  LAWS,  miners  may  make,  §  2324,  p.  11. 

See  Decisions;  Instructions. 
LOCATION,  length  of  on  lode  claims,  §  2320,  p.  8. 
ffho  may  make,  §  2319,  p.  8. 
rights  of  locators,  §§  2322,  2323,  pp.  9, 10. 
tunnel,  §  2323,  p.  10. 

miners'  regulations  concerning,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
records  of,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
expenditures  and  improvements,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
description  of,  on  vein  claims,  §  2327,  p.  15. 
placer  claims,  maximum  of,  §§  2330,  2331,  p.  17. 
oldest  to  take  vein  below  point  of  intersection,  §  2336,  p.  '21-. 
.  of  mill  sites,  not  to  exceed  five  acres,  §  2337,  p.  21. 
of  coal-lands,  §  2348,  p.  26, 
quantity  of  placer  ground  subject  to,  p.  43. 
instructions  concerning,  pp.  38,  39,  48. 
decisions  as  to,  on  veins  or  lodes,  p.  72. 
on  placer  claims,  p.  73. 

See  Decisions;  Instructions;  Be-location ;  Water  Rights. 
LODE-CLAIMS,  length  of,  §  2320,  p.  8. 

how  patented,  §§  2325,  2327,  pp.  12-15. 

See  Veins  and  Lodes;  Location. 


INDEX.  109 

MICHIGAN,  mineral  lands  in  exempt  from  certain  provisions  of  mining  laws,  §  2345, 
pp.  24,  25. 

when  entries  on  mineral  lands  in,  may  be  patented,  §  2345,  pp.  24,  25. 

mineral  lands  in  open  to  sale  and  pre-emption,  §  2345,  pp.  24,  25. 
MILL  SITES,  on  non-mineral  lands  not  contiguous  to  mine,  how  patented,  §  2337, 
pp.  21,  22. 

location  of  not  to  exceed  five  acres,  §  2337,  p.  21. 
See  De'cisions ;  Instructions. 
MINERAL  DEPOSITS,  in  public  lands  open  to  exploration  and  purchase,  §  2319i 
p.  8. 

instructions  concerning,  p.  52. 

decisions  relating  to,  p.  74. 

See  Mineral  Lands;  Valuable  Mineral  Deposits. 
MINERALS,  defined,  p.  52. 

valuable  mineral  deposits,  what  are,  p.  52, 

veins  and  lodes  defined,  p.  53. 
MINING  CLAIMS,  on  veins  or  lodes,  &c.,  length  of,  when  located  before  May  10» 
1872,  §  2320,  p.  8. 

same,  when  located  after  May  10,  1872,  §  2320,  p.  8. 

locations  not  to  be  made  until  vein  discovered,  §  2320,  p.  8. 

width  of  claims,  §  2320,  p.  8. 

end  lines  to  be  piarallel  to  each  other,  §  2320,  p.  8. 

citizenship  of  applicants  for,  how  proved,  §  2321,  p.  9. 

rights  of  locators  defined,  §  2322,  p.  9,  ,  • 

rights  of  owners  of  tunnels,  §  2323,  p.  10. 

locations  on  lines  of  tunnels  invalid,  §  2323,  p.  10* 

abandonment  of  tunnels,  what  shall  be  deemed,  §  2323,  p.  10. 

what  regulations  may  be  made  by  miners  of  district,  etc.,  §  2324,  p,  11. 

patents  for,  how  obtained^  §  2325,  p.  12. 

adverse  claims  for,  proceedings  on,  §  232G,  |d.  14. 

description  of  vein  or  lode  claims  on  surveyed  land,  §  2327,  p.  15. 

same  on  unsurvej'cd  lands,  §  2327,  p.  15 

pending  application  for,  how  prosecuted,  §  232S,  IC. 

patents  to  issue,  when,  §  2328,  p.  16. 

patents  for,  issued  before  May  10, 1872,  to  convey  what  rights,  §  2328.  p.  16, 

Burveyoi's  of  to  bo  appointed,  §  2334,  p.  20. 
place)' claims,  subject  to  entry  and  patent,  how,  §  2329,  p.  16, 

40-ai;re  subdivisions  may  bo  divided  into  lOacre  tracts,  §  2330,  p.  16. 

persons  owning  contiguous  claims  may  enter,  §  2330,  p.  16. 

no  location  after  July  9,  ls70,  to  exceed  160  acres,  §  2330,  p.  16. 

locations  to  conform  to  surveys,  §  2330,  p.  IG. 

on  surveyed  lands  to  conform  to  surveys,  etc.,  §  2331,  p.  17. 

game  not  to  exceed  20  acres,  ^  2331,  p.  17, 

■where  cannot  conform  to  legal  subdivisions,  how  surveyed,  §  2331,  p.  17. 

what  evidence  needed  to  establish  right  to  patent,  §  2332,  p.  18. 

same,  liens  attaching  lorior  to  patent  not  impaired,  §  2332,  p.  18. 

proceedings  for  patent,  where  vein  or  lode  is  within  boundaries  of  placer, 
claim,  §  2333,  p.  19. 

price  for  vein  or  placer  claim,  §  2333,  p.  19. 

where  vein  is  known  to  exist  and  application  does  not  include  it,  §  2383 
p.  19. 

surveys  of,  expenses,  etc.,  §  2334,  p.  20. 

affidavits  relating  to,  how  verified,  §  2335,  p.  21. 

intersecting  veins,  priority  of  title,  how  decided,  §  2336,  p,  21. 


110  INDEX. 

MINING  CLAIMS— Continued. 

intersecting  veins,  right  of  way  to  subsequent  location,  §  2336,  p.  21. 
owners  of,  ma,j  have  patent  to  non-mineral  lands,  not  contiguous,  for 

milling,  etc.,  purposes,  §  2337,  p.  21. 
owners  of  quartz  mills  and  reduction  works  may  have  patent  for  mill 

sites,  §  2337,  p.  22. 
what  conditions  of  sale  may  be  made  by  Legislatures,  §  2338,  p.  22. 
water  rights  for  mining  pui-poses  protected,  §  2339,  p.  22. 
existing  rights  not  affected,  §  2344,  p.  24. 
Sutro  tunnel  act  not  affected,  §  2344,  p.  24. 
records  of,  what  to  contain,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
MINERAL  LANDS,  fee  for  filing,  etc.,  application  for  patent  or  adverse  claim  to, 

§  223S,  p.  29. 
reserved  from  sale,  except  under  provisions  of  the  mining  laws,  §  2318,  p. 7. 
open  to  occupation  and  purchase  by  citizens,  §  2319,  p.  8. 
regulations  and  rules  of  miners  recognized  in  purchase,  §  2319,  p.  8. 
what  shall  be  proof  of  citizenship,  §  2321,  p.  9. 
rights  of  possession,  etc.,  defined  and  limited,  §  2322,  pp.  9, 10. 
patents  for,  how  obtained,  §  2325,  pp.  12,  13. 
adverse  claims,  proceedings  on,  §  232G,  pp.  14, 15. 
location  of  claims  on  surveyed  lands,  §  2327,  p.  15. 
surveys,  how  adjiisted  for  x^atents  on  unsurveyed  lands,  §  2327,  p.  15. 
pending  applications,  how  prosecuted,  §  2328,  p.  16. 
patents  issued  prior  to  May  10,  1872,  what  rights  to  convey,  §  2328,  p.  16. 
placers,  how  to  be  entered  and  patented,  §  2329,  p.  16. 
division  into  10-acre  ti'acts,  §  2330,  pp.  16, 17. 
entry  by  persons  having  contiguous  claim,  §  2330,  pp.  16, 17. 
location  of,  after  July  9,  1870,  not  to  exceed  160  acres,  §  2330,  pp.  16, 17. 
claims  of  settlers  on  agricultural  lands  not  impaired,  §  2330,  p.  17. 
on  unsurveyed  lands,  §  2331,  p.  17. 
on  surveyed  lands  to  conform  to  surveys,  §  2331,  p.  17. 
located  after  May  10,  1872,  not  to  exceed  20  acres,  §  2331,  p.  17. 
where  cannot -conform  to  legal  subdivisions,  how  surveys  made,  §  2331, p.l7. 
what  evidence  necessary  to  establish  right  to  patent,  §  2332,  p.  18. 
application  for  patent  to  placer  claim  containing  lode,  etc.,  how  made, 

§  2333,  p.  19. 
survey  of  and  division  into  mining  claims,  §  2334,  p.  20. 
affidavits,  how  verified,  §  2335,  p.  21. 
priority  of  title  where  veins  intersect,  §  2336,  p.  21. 
patents  for  non-mineral  lands  for  mill  sites,  §  2337,  pp.  21^,  22. 
patents  granted  subject  to  water  rights,  §  2340,  p.  23. 
to  be  open  to  homestead  entry,  when,  §  2341,  p.  23. 
to  be  set  apart  as  agiicultural  lands,  when,  §  2342,  p.  24. 
to  be  open  to  pre-emption  and  sale,  when,  §§  2341,  2342,  pp.  23,  24. 
additional  land  districts  may  be  cstabiislied,  wheu,  §  2343,  p.  24. 
I  additional  land  officers  may  be  appointed,  when,  §  2343,  p.  24. 

in  certain  States  exempt  from  preceding  provisions,  §  2345,  p.  24. 
in  certain  States  free  and  open  to  exploration  as  before  May  10, 1872,  §  2345, 
I  pp.  24,  25. 

!  settlers  on,  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  since  May  10, 1872,  to 

have  patents,  §  2345,  p.  25. 
open  to  pre-emption  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  §  2345,  p.  25. 
grants  to  States  and  corporations  not  to  include,  §  2346,  p.  25. 
public  surveys  extended  over  all  mineral  lands,  §  2406,  p.  30. 


INDEX.  Ill 

MINEKAL  LANDS— Continued. 

coal  lands,  entry  of  coal  lands,  §  2347,  p.  25. 

peference  of  entry  of  coal  lauds  to  persons  who  have  opened  mines,  §  2348, 

p.  26. 
associations  may  enter  640  acres  of  coal  land,  when,  §  2348,  p.  26. 
claims  on  coal  lands  to  be  presented,  within  what  time,  §  2349,  p.  26. 
but  one  entry  allowed  on  coal  lands,  §  2350,  p.  27. 
conflicting  claims  on  coal  lands,  how  decided,  §  2351,  p.  27. 
regulations  for  entry  of  coal  lands,  how  made,  §  2351,  p.  27. 
rights  prior  to  March  3,  1873,  on  coal  lands,  not  impaired,  §  2352,  p.  29. 
payment,  for  placer  mining  claim  containing  vein  or  lode  claim,  at  what  rate 
to  be  made,  §  2333,  p.  19. 
for  non-mineral  land  not  contiguous  to  mine,  used  for  mining  purposes, 

at  what  rate,  §  2337,  pp.  21,  22. 
for  mill  site  for  quartz  mine  or  reduction  works,  §  2337,  pp.  21,  22. 
for  coal  londs,  rate  of,  §  2347,  p.  25. 
time  for  making,  oia  coal  lands,  §  2350,  pp.  26,  27. 
See  Table  of  Reference,  p.  58. 
MINERAL  "VEINS,  title  to  town  lots  on  public  lands,  when  subject  to.  §  2386,  p.  30. 
MINING  ASSOCLVTION,  unincorporated,  how  citizenship  of  established,  §  2321,  p.  9. 
MINING  LAWS,  local  customs  and  rules  of  miners  applicable,  when,  §  2319,  p.  8. 
MINING  EECOKDS,  where  lost  or  destroyed,  proceedings,  p.  40. 
MINING  STATUTES,  corresponding  sections  of  acts  of  1806,  1870  and  1872,  with 
Revised  Statutes,  p.  34. 
instructions  corresponding  to  sections  of,  p.  58. 
passed  prior  to  December  1,  1873,  repealed,  §  55915,  p.  34. 
MINING  TITLE,  possessory  action  for  recovery  of,  not  affected  by  paramount  title 

in  United  States,  §  910,  p.  28. 
MINNESOTA,  mineral  lands  in,  exempt  from  certain  provisions  of  mining  laws, 
§  2345,  p.  24. 
bona  fide  entries  on  mineral  lands  may  bo  patented,  when,  §  2345,  p.  24. 
to  be  open  to  sale  and  pre-emption,  §  2345,  p.  24. 
MONTANA,  fifty  per  cent,  addition  to  certain  fees  to  Registers  and  Receivers  in, 
§  2338,  p.  29. 

NEVADA,  £fty  per  cent,  addition  to  certain  fees  to  Registers  and  Keceivers  in, 
§  2238,  p.  29. 

See  Comslock  Lode  ;  liailroad  Act ;  Sixteenth  and  Thirty-sixth 
Sections;  Stitro  Tunnel  Act. 
NEW  MEXICO^fty  per  cent,  addition  to  certain  fees  to  Registers  and  Receivers  in, 
§  223S,  p.  29. 
territorial  law  in,  p.  75. 

OREGON,  fifty  per  cent,  addition  to -certain  fees  to  Registers  and  Receivers  in, 
§  2238,  p.  29. 

PATENTS,  for  mineral  lands,  how  obtained,  §  2325,  p.  12. 

to  different  claimants  for  portions  of  a  mining  claim,  §  2326,  pp.  14, 15. 
for  mining  claims  under  former  laws,  may  issue,  when,  §  2328,  p.  16. 
for  mining  claims  heretofore  issued,  what  right  to  convey,  §  2323,  p.  16. 
for  placer  mining  claims,  §  2329,  p.  16. 

for  mining  claim  for  work  done,  to  be  issued  when,  §  2332,  p.  18. 
for  placer  claim  containing  a  lode  claim,  §  2333,  p.  19. 


112  INDEX. 


PATENTS— Continued. 

for  non-mineral  land  not  contiguous  to  vein  or  lode  claim,  §  2337,  pp.21.  22. 

of  mill  site  for  quartz  mill  or  reduction  'works,  §  2337,  pp.  21,  22. 

conditions  in,  involving  easements,  etc.,  §  2338,  ]}.  22. 

to  be  subject  to  vested  and  accrued  water  rights,  when,  §  2340,  p.  23. 

for  mineral  lands  in  Jlichigau,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  §  23i5,  p.  24. 

issued  prior  to  May  10,  1872,  p.  36. 

instructions  concerning,  pp.  42-45. 

manner  of  proceeding  to  obtain,  on  veins  or  lodes,  p^  89. 

manner  of  proceeding  to  obtain,  on  placer  claims,  p.  42 

manner  of  proceeding  to  obtain,  on  mill  sites,  p.  46. 

manner  of  proceeding  to  obtain,  on  coal  lands,  p.  56^ 

decisions  relative  to,  pp.  75-77. 

to  whom  will  issue,  pp.  75,  76. 

effect  of,  p.  75. 

what  may  be  patented  under  mining  statutes,  p.  76, 

for  mineral  lands  on  town  site,  p.  76. 

reservations  in,  p.  76. 

error  in,  -p.  76. 

when  will  be  set  aside,  p.  76. 

See  Decisions;  Instruclions. 
PLACER  CLAIMS,  subject  to  entry  and  patent;  how,  §  2329,  p.  16. 

40-acre  subdivisions  may  be  divided  into  10-acre  tracts,  §  2330,  p.  16. 

persons  owning  contiguous  claims  may  enter,  §  2330,  p.  16. 

no  location  after  July  9,  1870,  to  exceed  160  acres,  §  2330,  p.  16. 

location  to  conform  to  sjurveys,  §  2330,  p.  16. 

on  snrvej-ed  lands  to  conform  to  surveys,  etc.,  §  2331,  p.  17. 

same,  not  to  exceed  20  acres,  §  2331,  p.  17. 

where  cannot  conform  to  legal  subdivisions,  how  surveyed,  §  2331,  p.  17. 

what  evidence  needed  to  establish  right  to  patent,  §  2332,  p.  18. 

same,  liens  attaching  prior  to  patent  not  impaired,  §  2332,  p.  IS. 

proceedings  for  patent,  where  vein  or  lode  is  within  boundaries  of  placer 
claim,  §  2333,  p.  19. 

price  for  vein  or  placer  claim,  §  2333,  p.  19. 

where  vein  is  known  to  exist,  and  application  does  not  include,  §  2333,  p.  19. 

instructions  concerning,  j).  42. 

quantity  subject  to  location,  p.  43. 
PRE-EMPTION— of  coal  lands,  §§  2348,  2349,  p.  26. 

fees  of  Registers  and  Receivers,  §  2238,  pp.  28,  29. 

subject  to  vested  water  rights,  §§  2339,  2340,  pp.  22,  23. 
PROOF,  of  citizenship,  by  applicants  for  mining  lands,  §  2321,  p.9. 

of  claims  to  mineral  lands,  before  whom  may  be  made,  §  2335,  p.  21. 
PUBLICATION,  by  Register  of  Land-OfSce  of  notice  of  application  for  mineral 
lands,  §2335,  p.  21. 

See  Decisions;  Instructions;  Forms. 

QUARTZ  MILL,  owner  of,  not  owning  a  mine  may  have  patent  for  miU  site,  §  2337, 
pp.  21,  22. 

See  Instructions;  Mill  Site. 

RAILROADS.    See  Appendix;  Decisions. 

REGISTERS  AND  RECEIVERS,  fees  and  commissions  of,  §  2238,  pp..28,  29. 
duties  of,  in  mineral  land  cases,  §§  2325,  2326,  pp.  12-15. 
See  Decisions;  Instructions, 


INDEX.  113 

REGULATIONS  OP  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE,  relative  to  status  of  vein  or  lode 
claims  located  prior  to  May  10,  1S72,  p.  35. 

patents  for  veins  or  lodes  issued  prior  to  May  10,  1S7j,  p.  36. 

as  to  manner  of  locating  claims  on  veins  or  lodes,  ])p.  36,  37. 

xelative  to  tunnel  locations  and  tunnel  rights,  pp.  3-i,  39. 

manuLT  of  proceeding  to  obtain  Government  title  to  vein  or  lode  claimB, 
pp.  39-41. 

relative  to  adverse  claims,  pp.  41,  42. 

relative  to  placer  claims,  jjp.  42,  43. 

quantity  of  placer  ground  subject  to  location,  pp.  43,  44. 

appointment  of  deputy  surveyors,  p.  45. 

ciiarges  for  surveys  and  publications,  p.  45. 

fees  of  Registers  and  Rect-ivers,  p.  45. 

i-elative  to  mill  sites,  pp.  '16,  47. 

relative  to  proof  of  ciiizensbip  of  mining  claimanta,  p.  47. 

as  to  expenditures  and  imijrovements,  p.  47. 

relative  to  surveys,  p.  48. 

contests  between  mineral  and  agricultural  claimants,  p.  50. 

as  to  what  are  valuable  mineral  deposits,  pp.  52,  54. 

veins  and  lodes  defined,  p,  53. 

concerning  coal  lands,  pp.  54-58. 
See  Instniclions. 
RE-LOCATION.    See  Deci^yioits;  Instrtictioiis ;  Location. 
REVISED  ST.VTUTES,  mining  acts  prior  to  Dec.  1,  1n73,  repealed  by,  §  5506,  p.  34. 

corresponding  sections  of  with  mining  acts  of  1866, 1870  and  1872, p.  34. 

instructions  applicable  to  sections  of,  p.  58. 
ROCK  IN  PLACE,  defined,  p.  79. 

SCHOOL  LANDS.    See  California;  Decisions;  Nevada. 
SPRL  as.    See  Decisions. 

SURVEYS  AND  SURVEYORS,  surveyors  of  mining  claims,  appointment  of  §2334,  p.20. 
cost  of  surveys,   publication  of  notices,   etc.,  Low  paid  and  regulatedi 
§  233 1,  p.  20. 
general  instruclions— to  be  made  to  obtain  title,  IT  28,  p.  39. 
plat  of,  to  be  posted  and  filed,  IT  29,  p.  39. 
charges  and  fees,  p.  45. 
supplemental  instructions— location  of  claim,  essential  requisites,  p.  48. 
original  record-!,  iJentification,  p.  48. 
statute  to  be  strictly  pursueJ,  p.  48. 
location  and  proof  of  claims,  p  48, 
re-location,  when  necessary,  p.  48. 
conformity  to  rule  imperative,  p.  49. 
instructions  to  deputies,  p.  40. 
form  of  certificate  to  field-notes,  p.  49. 
duties  of  deputy  surveyors,  p.  49, 
forms  relating  to,  p.  49. 

where  several  lodes  embraced  in  one  application,  p.  8l» 
error  in,  p.  81. 

See  Decisions;  Instruclions. 
SURVEYOR-GENER.^L,  forms  used  Ity,  in  certificates  to  plats  and  fleld-notcs,  p.  49. 
SCHOOL  SECTIONS,  mineral  lands  on,  in  California,  act  concerning,  p.  85. 

See  Decisions. 
SUTRO  TUNNEL,  rights  of  A.  Sutro  not  impaired  by  mining  statutes,  §  2344,  p.  24. 
See  Appendix. 


114  .  INDEX.         ■ 

TIMBER.    See  Decisions,  p.  81.    ' 

TOWN  SITES,  no  title  given  to  any  mine  or  mining  claim  on,  ^  28-^0,  p.  30. 

TUNNELS,  run  for  developnie^it  of  .mines,  what'rights  to  cair}-,  §  2323,  p.  10. 

locations  on  the  line  of  invalid,  when,  §  2323,  p.  lu. 

abandonment  of  tunnel,  what  shall  be  deemed,  §  2323,  p.  tO. 

expenditure  on,  when  run  for  development  of  lode  to  be  considered  as 
expended  on  lode,  amendment  to  §  2324,  p.  33. 

instructions' concerning  1111  19-26.  pp.  38,  39. 

expenditures  on,  p.  82. 

See  Decisions;  Instructions. 

VEIN  OR  LODE,  money  expended  on  tunnel  for  development  of,  to  be  considered 
as  expended  on  lode,  amendment  to,  §  2324,  p.  33. 
description  of  on  surveyed  lands,  how  made,  §  2327,  p.  15.  ' 
intersecting,  who  to  have  title,  §  2336  p.  21. 
lengths  of,  §  2320,  p.  8. 
rights  of  locators  of,  §  2322,  pp.  9,  10. 
regulations  by  miners,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
records  of  claim,  what  to  embrace,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
work  to  be  done  on,  §  2324,  p.  11. 
patents  for,  how  obtained,  §  2325,  pp.  12,  13. 
adverse  claims  for,  proceedings  on,  §  232(1,  pp.  14,  15. 
description  of  vein  claims,  how  made,§  2327,  p.  15. 
statutes  of,  located  prior  to  May  10,  1S72,  ITIT  2-6,  pp.  35,  36. 
patents  for,  issued  prior  to  May  10,  1872,  HIT  7, 8,  p.  36. 
instructions  as  to  manner  of  locating,  ITIT  0,  IS,  pp.  37,  38. 
manner  of  proceeding  to  obtain  title  to  ITIT  27-43,  pp.  3!)-41. 
adverse  claims  on  application  for  patent,  HIT  44-52,  pp.  41,  42. 
deliuition  of,  p.  53. 

WATER  RIGHTS,  remedies  of  settlers  injured  by  construction  of  ditches  or  canals, 
§2339,  p.  22. 
in  California,  rights  to  water  may  be  acquired  by  appropriation,  p.  85. 
appropriation  must  be  for  a  useful  purpose,  p.  85. 
point  of  diversion  may  be  changed,  p.  85. 
water  may  be  turned  into  natural  channels,  p.  85. 
first  in  time,  first  in  right,  p.  85. 
notice  of  appropriation,  p.  85. 
diligence  in  appropriatitig,  p.  85. 
completion  defined,  p.  85. 
doctrine  of  relation  applied,  p.  85. 
forfeiture,  p.  85. 

rights  of  present  claimant,  p.  85. 

Recorder  to  keep  book  in  which  to  record  notices,  p.  85. 
rights  of  riparian  proprietors  not  affected,  p.  85. 
See  Decisions. 
WASHINGTON  TERRITORY,  fifty  per  cent  addition  to  certain  fees  of  Registers  and 

Receivers  in,  §  233S,  pp.  2S,  29. 
WYOMING  TERRITORY,  fifty  per  cent  addition  to  certain  fees  of  Registers  and  Re- 
ceivers in,  §  2338,  pp.  2S,  29. 

UTAH  TERRITORY,  fifty  per  cent  addition  to  certain  fees  of  Registers  and  Receiv- 
ers in,  §  2238,  pp.  28,  29. 


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